Reading the Sword Thief
by CelestialMacabre
Summary: Dan, Amy, Nellie, Ian, Saladin, Natalie, Vikram and Isabel, Alistair, Jonah Wizard, and Hamilton Holt are suddenly transported to a magical room. Takes place at the end of the Emperor's Code . A book appears, as well as a letter. They must read to leave
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: My first fanfiction. Please review and tell me if I should continue.**

The room was peaceful, and it had a serenity about it. A fire crackled in the hearth, rich brown rugs were strewn around the spacious chamber, and comfortable sofas were surrounding a small glass table. In all, it seemed picture perfect. Until someone, or rather, a few people came and destroyed that peace.

"Aaaaaaaaaagghhhhhh!" Dan yelped as he materialized in the room with a flash of gold. "Shut up, you dweeb!" Amy hissed, for once her voice not stuttering. "Well, that's one point for Amy Cahill!" Dan declared, with the air of a sports announcer. "Ladies and gentlemen, how many more do you think she'll score?"

Amy glared at her younger brother. "Dan, we don't know where we are, we may be stuck here forever, the Kabras could have done this, and all you can think of is announcing to the world that I actually said something without stuttering?" No stuttering, again. Dan noticed this. "Ladies and gentlemen, Amy Cahill has scored another point! Round of applause, if you will!"

A flash of light, and then a bored voice. "And who exactly, are we applauding?" Dan whipped around, his eyes widening. There stood two perfect figures, both with their arms crossed. Ian and Natalie Kabra, looking immaculate as always. Amy flushed, wrapping her eyes around herself. "Uh…..uh…." her eyes darted around frantically.

"Welcome, welcome, Cobras," Dan said sarcastically. Despite his previous words, his eyes were serious. "Is this some kind of joke? You know, if you wanted our clue, you could have just asked. Not that we would have given it to you anyway."

Amy elbowed her brother. Hard. _You dweeb! You just told them we have a lead! _Dan looked guilty, his expression contrite as he met his eyes. _Sorry, alright? _Amy gave a small nod, and Dan felt a flicker of relief.

"Unfortunately," Natalie spoke up, her voice smooth. "We do not know why we are here either." Dan faked a gasp of shock. He clutched at his chest dramatically. "The great Natalie Cobra has admitted she doesn't know something!" Suddenly, he dropped his act and became serious again, with an astonishing quickness to it.

Natalie looked irritated. But before she could insult Dan, there was another flash of gold light. "Mrrp!" There was Saladin, the Egyptian Mau, looking quite annoyed. He stalked toward Dan, looking at him reproachfully, as if asking, _Why am I here? Where is my red snapper?_

Dan shrugged, bending down to pick Saladin up. "I don't know either, dude." "How original," Ian's voice was bored. "Talking to your cat."

Amy glared at Ian, ignoring the flutters of panic and betrayal in her stomach. Her heart ached, remembering the harsh betrayal. "S-shut u-up," she tried not to stutter, but she did. "Of course Amy," Ian smiled as if he never betrayed her. "Anything for you."

Dan glared furiously at Ian. "Don't talk to Amy like that," he snarled. Ian only smiled and shrugged. There was another flash of golden light, and then Nellie appeared. Her earbuds were in her hands, and she looked furious.

"Where the hell were you, kiddos?" she snapped. "Here I was, rockin' to some music, and then you disappear!"

Amy shrugged. And that was all the answer Nellie needed. The au pair moved closer to Amy and Dan, eyeing the Kabras suspiciously. Another flash of light, and then another, and then another. "Seriously," Dan muttered. "Why is there so much light?"

The first flash brought Alistair Oh, clutching his diamond cane and scratching his head. Thankfully, he wasn't in his pink pajamas. "Where are we, children?" he mumbled, orientating himself.

The other two flashes brought Jonah Wizard and Hamilton Holt, both looking equally confused and irked.

"Yo, homies," Jonah called. "Where we at, yo? Gotta get back to the showbiz, yo." Hamilton's words were less adorned with "yo's."

"Where are we?" he asked, glancing at Amy. Amy shrugged again, stuttering. "I d-don't k-know." Natalie sighed wearily. "Do stop stuttering, dear Amy," she purred. "Or don't talk at all."

Hamilton frowned, he still liked Amy and Dan. They were honest, and Hamilton wanted to be their friends and allies, no matter what his dad said. "Don't talk to Amy like that," he snapped at the Kabras.

Everyone looked shocked, and Amy got even redder. "T-thanks, H-hamilton," she murmured quietly. "Well," Ian's voice was amused. "It seems you're striking up a little fan club, Amy."

Dan opened his mouth to argue, but before he could, there were two more flares of golden light. He quickly shut his mouth, taking a step back as he realized who they were. His blood ran cold as he recognized the newcomers, and he saw that the blood had drained from Amy's face.

"Greetings, my children," Isabel Kabra purred. Vikram stood on her left side, smiling devilishly. If Dan wasn't so scared, he would have taken out a camera and snapped a few pictures of Ian and Natalie. Their faces were _priceless. _

Jonah and Hamilton looked dumbfounded. "Yo, what's going on here, yo?" Isabel looked at Jonah as if he were the lowest scum. Her tone was one of disgust as she said, "_Do _keep your vulgar words to yourself."

Flicking an invisible speck of dirt of her immaculate suit, Isabel smiled. But it was her husband that asked the question. "Is there any reason we are all standing here right now when we have business to tend to?"

Ian spoke up. "We don't know why we're here, Papa." Isabel smirked. "Not even our beloved Amy?"

Amy clenched her fists and met Isabel's mocking eyes. She suppressed a shiver and memories came back to her. Isabel holding her, giving away the clue; Isabel about to throw her to the sharks…

There was another flare of light, this one green. A letter fluttered down to the table, and Amy, being to closest, picked it up. Slowly opening the sheet, she stared at it, her eyes scanning the contents.

"Well, girl?" Vikram demanded. "Read it." Amy began to read, but her stuttering made it hard to discern the words. "Give it here, Amy." Dan gently took the paper from his sister, and mentally he said _your welcome _to Amy's mortified eyes.

_Dear Dan, Amy, Nellie, Saladin, Jonah, Hamilton, Ian, Natalie, Vikram, and Isabel,_

"That was long," mumbled Hamilton. No one paid him any mind.

_I have brought you all here for a few reasons. But the main one is to read three books. _

Amy looked faintly interested, but everyone else looked bored. Isabel narrowed her eyes, wondering if this was some kind of joke.

_These three books are records of the past, and it will bring some insight to the past. You might question why I brought the Lucian leaders here, since they will obviously murder most of the people standing in this room because of the book's contents. But it is important, and Isabel, please refrain from killing your son. I'm sure that your second attempt at killing your children because of the clue hunt will not reflect well on your parenting skills._

Dan sniggered, and even Hamilton chuckled. Amy managed a smile, and Saladin gave a _mrrp. _Everyone was amused except for the Kabras.

"Who does this person think he is, to insult me?" Isabel hissed, her eyes glinting. Dan gulped, and hurriedly continued.

_And Isabel, I am female, thank you very much. You must have grown old, because you seem to be slipping. _

Dan, sensing the danger, read on quickly.

_There are only three books, I assure you, so it won't be too much of your time. For the hunt's sake, I have not sent the book recording the events on Mount Everest and the ones that followed it. I'm sure that Amy and Dan would like to keep their clue safe._

At this, everyone's heads turned to look at Amy and Dan. Amy flinched, and Natalie Kabra fingered the dart gun that seemed to magically appear in her hand.

_Natalie, I appreciate your incentive to win the hunt, but refrain from shooting anyone please. And I would advise everyone in this room to dispose of any weapons or cameras. Leave them on the table. You will get them back._

Dan paused, eyeing the Kabras pointedly. Hamilton and Jonah reluctantly dropped their weapons on the table, retreating back quickly. The Kabras didn't move.

"Who dares tell _us _what to do?" Isabel was feral, and Dan could tell that if he didn't keep reading, someone would get hurt.

_Isabel Kabra, kindly put down your weapons. That goes for the rest of the Kabras and Alistair Oh._

Alistair hesitantly removed a sack from his pocket, placing it on the table. Now all eyes were on the Kabras.

_Dispose of your weapons._

Slowly, and very unwillingly, each of the Kabras dropped their weapons on the table. Isabel and Natalie were clearly fuming. In a sudden flash, all of the weapons were gone.

_Now that's all taken care of._

Dan couldn't help but feel that the words were smug.

_For the sake of the hunt, I have managed to suspend time for the duration that you will be reading the books. But they must be read quickly, because I cannot suspend time for extended amounts of time._

"Awesome!" Dan exclaimed excitedly. "Maybe she's a ninja!" Everyone looked at him as if he was crazy, and he deflated.

_I know you are all wondering who I am. _

Everyone looked eager at this, even Saladin. Isabel Kabra looked as if she wanted to find out who the mystery person was so that she could tear her apart.

_Well, too bad, I'm not telling. All I'm going to say is that I'm related, a close relation to about half of you in this room._

There was a sigh of disappointment. Isabel emitted a soft growl. Ian and Natalie visibly recoiled from their mother. Vikram just looked bored.

_So, without further ado, let's start reading! Read the books in order. Well, they're not exactly in order, since I skipped a few chapters of the hunt. But anyways, it doesn't matter._

_Get reading everyone! Oh and Isabel, you wouldn't want to harm me. Otherwise you'll have swarms of angry Cahills, Lucians and other branches alike, looking to kill you._

_Get reading!_

_KLK_

Dan finished reading, and almost magically, the letter vanished. "Now what? And who's KLK?" Natalie asked.

Dan looked at her as if she was a psycho. "Now we read," he said, in a _duh _sort of tone. But secretly, he wondered who KLK was. Isabel spoke up again. "Perhaps the K stands for Kabra." Dan chortled. "Right. Never." But inside, he wondered if the K did stand for Kabra. The books had appeared on the glass table. Amy reached for the one on the top of the pile.

"The Sword Thief," she read. Dan froze, and so did Ian. "Nooooooooooooooo!" Dan cried out. Ian looked terrified, and so did Amy. Amy, Dan, Ian, and Natalie stepped away from the Kabra parents.

"Korea," Alistair mused quietly, and he thought he knew why the Cahills and the Kabra children were terrified of the Kabra parents.

Isabel narrowed her eyes, but Vikram looked amused. A hungry glint was in his eye. "What are you waiting for girl? Start reading."

Amy mutely handed to the book to Dan. _Help _she mouthed. Dan could only shrug. He stared at the red book as if it were venomous, but began to read.

"**The Sword Thief." **His voice was a monotone, and he prayed that it wouldn't be too humiliating.

"**Chapter One." **Dan paused again, scanning the page. Reluctantly, he continued to read.

"**They were toast." **

Isabel snickered. "Naturally," she said snottily. Nellie rose to Amy and Dan's defense. "For all you know, that could mean Ian and Natalie."

Ian and Natalie froze, terror appearing in their eyes as their mother turned her poisonous glare on them.

"**Amy Cahill eyed the battered black duffel bag rumbling up the airport conveyor belt."**

"See!" Isabel's voice was triumphant. Vikram did nothing as he watched his children relax slightly.

"Could you stop interrupting?" Dan was nervous, but his angry tone belied his feelings. "It's rude."

"**It bulged at the corners. The sign above the belt said **_**THANK YOU FOR VISITING VENICE: RANDOM PIECES OF LUGGAGE WILL BE SEARCHED **_**in five languages.**

** "Oh great," Amy said. "How random is 'random'?"**

"**I told you, a ninja warrior must always keep his swords in his carry-on," whispered his brother Dan, who had been operating on brain deficit for as long as Amy could remember.**

Dan glared at his sister, who could only redden and shrug. Natalie snickered. "Watch out, Mother," she said mockingly. "Daniel is on brain deficit!" Isabel laughed.

Dan was annoyed. And embarrassed. Not to mention hungry. So he decided to keep reading.

"**Excuse me, Jackie Chan, but carry-on luggage is **_**always **_**X-rayed," Amy whispered back. "There are extra special rules about samurai swords in **_**backpacks. **_**Even if they belong to scrawny, delusional eleven-year-olds who think they're ninjas."**

** "What was wrong with 'we need them to slice the veal parmigiana'?" Dan said. "It would have worked fine. The Italians understand food."**

"**Can **_**you **_**understand 'five to twenty years, no parole'?"**

"Obviously not," sniffed Isabel. Vikram twitched the corner of his mouth into a small smile. Hamilton scowled; he didn't like how Dan was being laughed at.

**Dan shrugged. He lifted up a mesh-sided pet carrier, inside of which a very disgruntled-looking Egyptian Mau was eyeing him suspiciously. "Bye-bye, Saladin," he sang into the mesh. "Remember, when we get to Tokyo…red snapper sushi every night!"**

Saladin glared at Dan as if everything going wrong in the world was his fault. The cat still remembered and was silently reproaching Dan in the way that only a cat can.

"_**Mrrp?" **_**whined Saladin from inside the carrier, as Dan set it gently on the conveyor belt. **

** "Mmmm, hmm, ohh…aaaaaaaaghhhh!" came a strangled yelp from behind them. Although everyone else in the vicinity was turning with a look of alarm, Amy and Dan knew that it was their au pair, Nellie Gomez, dancing to a tune on her iPod. She didn't care that she sounded like a dying meerkat, which was one of the many cool things about Nellie Gomez.**

Jonah's mouth dropped in shock. "Yo," he mumbled, shifting away from Nellie. "Always thought you were musical, yo."

Vikram looked slightly disgusted, but again, it was Isabel and Natalie who seemed to be the most vocal. Isabel muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "Filthy trash," and Ian looked at Nellie with a peculiar expression on his face.

Nellie raised her eyebrows, as if daring anyone to rebuke her singing. But apparently no one wanted to mess with the au pair. Timidly, Amy touched Nellie's arm as if in a gesture of assurance. Nellie smiled slightly.

**Amy watched as the carrier disappeared through the cargo window. If the officials did search the bag, there would be alarms. Screaming Italian cops. She, Dan, and Nellie would have to run.**

**Not that they weren't used to that. They'd been running a lot lately. It began the day they accepted the challenge in their grandmother Grace's will. They'd had to go to her mansion in Massachusetts for that – and immediately afterward the mansion went up the flames. Since then, they'd nearly been killed in a collapsing building in Philadelphia, attacked by monks in Austria, and chased by boats through the canals in Venice. They'd been the target of dirty tricks from every branch of the Cahill family.**

Ian burst out laughing. "Attacked by monks. You must be very infuriating, Daniel."

Dan twitched. Jonah didn't look happy. "Yo, that wasn't fun. Man, it took forever to get the red paint off!"

Isabel looked offended, her beautiful face in a pout. "They are not dirty tricks." Amy spoke up, her quiet, stuttering voice music to Ian's ears. But Ian did not show his emotions. He couldn't. Not with Papa and Mama here.

"Y-yes, t-they are." Amy's voice was held quiet authority. "No they are not. Kabras would never use dirty tricks." Isabel's voice was cool, her eyes hardening to chips of ice. "R-really?" Amy said sarcastically, but her voice shook as she felt Ian's eyes on her. "So lying to me about who killed my parents wasn't a dirty trick, was it?"

Isabel's eyes flashed venomously. "That wasn't a lie, my dear." Amy raised her eyebrows. "Y-yes it w-was. Y-you said it w-was I-irina. B-but it w-was y-you."

Everyone's eyes were on the argument between Amy and Isabel. Dan, sensing a fight, quickly resumed reading, hoping that the next few sentences would pacify the two.

Ian watched Amy curiously, the girl who dared to stand up to his mother. Alistair also watched Amy, a coil of affection growing in him. He had been silent so far, blending into the background.

**Once in a while – like every three seconds – Amy wondered why the heck they were doing this. She and Dan could have opted for a cool million dollars each, like a lot of Cahill family members did. **

"Wish you had," Natalie muttered. Only Ian heard her, and he couldn't help but silently disagree. If Amy and Dan had taken the money, he would never have gotten the chance to stare at her and her "FLO" qualities. Even if their involvement made his parents and Daniel furious. Daniel he couldn't care more about, but his parents were a different matter.

**But Grace had offered another choice: a race for 39 Clues to a secret that had been hidden for centuries, the greatest source of power the world had known. **

**Until then, Amy and Dan had been leading pretty lame, ordinary lives.**

"And you still do," snapped Isabel Kabra. Vikram did nothing, but his eyes held devotion and agreement with his wife.

**After their parents had died seven years ago, their crabby Aunt Beatrice had taken them in – and the only cool thing she'd ever done was hire Nellie. But now they knew they were part of something way bigger, a huge family that included ancestors like Ben Franklin and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It seemed like all the great geniuses of the world had been Cahills. That was pretty amazing.**

"**Hey, Amy, did you ever want to, like, get on the conveyor belt and see what happened? Like, 'Hey, don't mind me, I'm just hanging with the cargo'?" **

**And then there was Dan.**

Amy chuckled softly. "Wow, Amy," Dan grumbled. "Nice to see you love me so much."

"You know what would happen Daniel?" Ian said. "They would just mistake you for cargo. You certainly lack the brains to not be cargo."

Alistair spoke up for the first time, and everyone glanced at him in shock. The Ekaterina had been so silent, so unassuming, that everyone forgot that he was even there.

"Actually, Ian," Alistair said conversationally. "I think you'll find that Dan is very clever. Perhaps it is _you _who lacks the brains. After all, how many clues have you found so far? Hmmm?"

Alistair tapped his chin. Ian flushed scarlet, and if looks could kill, Ian and Alistair would both be dead, courtesy of Isabel Kabra, the loving mother. Dan was surprised that Uncle Alistair would say this, but he sent a grateful look to him anyway.

"**Come on!" Amy grabbed her brother by the arm and headed for the departure gates. Nellie was right on their heels, spinning the wheels of her iPod with one hand and adjusted her snake nose ring with the other.**

**Amy eyed the airport clock. 2:13. The flight was scheduled to leave at 2:37. This was an international flight. You were supposed to arrive at the airport **_**two hours **_**in advance, not twenty four minutes. "We're not going to make it!" Amy said.**

"Unfortunately, you did," Natalie mumbled.

**Now they were running toward gate 4, dodging other passengers. "Guess they didn't find Rufus and Remus, huh?" Dan called out.**

"Rufus and Remus?" Hamilton spoke up, dumbfounded. "You smuggled _kids _into the airport?"

"**Who are Rufus and Remus?" Amy asked. **

"**The swords!" Dan said. "I named them after the founders of Italy.**

"**It's **_**Romulus **_**and Remus," Amy hissed. "And they founded Rome. And don't **_**ever **_**say that word!"**

"**Rome?"**

"**No – **_**s – w – o –r – d." **_**Amy dropped her voice to a whisper as they pulled up to the rear of a very long security line. **

"See, mother," Natalie said smugly. "We always _skip _the lines."

Amy rolled her eyes. Alistair smirked. "Yes, you _skip _the lines. What a sight you must look, Mrs. Kabra, when you are skipping down the lines." Alistair had taken "skip" literally.

Dan burst out laughing, the book slipping out of his hands. Chortling, he bent down to pick it up. "Awesome, Uncle Alistair," he chuckled.

Amy rolled her eyes. "Keep reading, you dweeb."

"**Do you want us to go to **_**j – a – i – l?"**_

"**O – o – p –s."**

"**O-O-O-O…" Nellie wailed off-key to some unidentified punk track.**

**The security line seemed to take, like, thirty-two hours. The worst part for Amy, as always, was having to take off her jade necklace to go through the X-ray machine. She hated to part from that necklace even for a minute. When they emerged, the clock read 2:31. They raced down a long corridor toward the gate.**

"Materialistic much, my dear?" Isabel seemed to be taking every chance to shoot down Amy. But Amy held her ground. "No, I'm not materialistic." Her voice was clear and unwavering. "You are."

Amy met the eyes of one of the few people she was terrified of, gazing calmly into Isabel Kabra's eyes. Both kept up the staring contest until Isabel Kabra finally looked away. Amy smiled triumphantly.

Ian watched Amy, marveling at her. She dared go against his mother, and she _won. _He shook his head, the movement barely noticeable. Amy was full of surprises.

"**Now boarding all remaining passengers for Japan Airlines, flight eight-oh-seven to Tokyo, at gate four," said a voice over the PA system in heavily accented English. "Have your boarding passes ready, and…**_**arrrrrrrivederci**_**!"**

**They pulled up to the rear of the line behind a sniffling toddler who turned and sneezed on Nellie. "Ew. Manners?" she said, wiping her arm on her sleeve.**

Natalie looked repulsed.

"**Has anyone seen my boarding pass?" Dan said, rummaging in his pockets.**

"**Have mine," drawled Nellie. "It's covered with boogers."**

"**Try inside your book," Amy said, pointing toward the paperback stuffed in Dan's back pocket.**

**He pulled out a dog-eared copy of **_**Classic All-Time Movie Comedies, **_**which he'd found in the backseat of the cab on the way to the airport. The boarding pass was marking page 93. **_**"It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," **_**Dan said. **

"**That's the smartest observation you've made all day," Amy said.**

Dan put down the book, glaring at his older sister who was smiling innocently. "Stop doing that," he growled.

Amy widened her eyes. "Who, me?"

"Yes, you." Dan was getting annoyed.

"What did I do?" Amy asked, smirking slightly. Dan rolled his eyes in frustration. "You do know this already happened right?" Dan twitched again, but picked up the book.

Everyone else was watching this curiously, each of them having nostalgic thoughts, except for the Kabra parents.

_Wish I had a sis, _Jonah thought gloomily. _Mum never lets me tease her._

_Look at them, _Alistair thought sadly. _That could have been my childhood. I'd still be in the hunt, but at least dad would be alive._

_Wish Dad approved of me, _Hamilton was watching the Cahill siblings with a mix of envy and sadness. _So hard to do things right. But I know I'm smarter than him. _

_It's not fair, _Ian was petulant and jealous. _But the Kabras never show affection._

This was all hidden to the oblivious Amy and Dan.

"**It's the name of a movie," Dan replied. "I'm reading about it. The plot is so awesome –"**

"**Step forward please – welcome aboard!" chirped a perky blond flight attendant whose Japan Airlines headset bobbed every time she nodded a greeting. She was wearing a name tag that read: I. RINALDI.**

**Nellie handed over her boarding pass and heading into the accordion-walled tunnel that led to the plane's hatch. "Um guys, this shouldn't be so hard to do," she called over her shoulder.**

**Dan held out his pass to the attendant. "It's really a funny movie. Like, all these old-school comedians searching for this treasure –"**

"**Sorry, but he's challenged," Amy said to the attendant, handing over her pass and nudging him toward the tunnel.**

"There you go again!" Dan hissed. Amy only smiled.

Both of then quieted down and grew serious as they realized the events that would happen next. The Kabras would finally get a bit of glory, Dan realized, as he glared at Ian venomously.

**But Ms. Rinaldi scooted in front of them, blocking their path. "**_**Un momento?" **_**she said, trying to keep her airline smile while listening to something over her headset. "**_**Si…ah, si si si si…buono," **_**she said into the headset mike.**

**Then, with a shrug towards Amy and Dan, she said, "You come with me, please?"**

Ian and Natalie were smiling triumphantly, and those who had not been there were watching them suspiciously. Isabel and Vikram, the loving parents, both gave a sharp, snake like grin.

**As they followed her toward the corner, Amy tried to keep herself from shaking. The swords. They'd found the swords.**

**Dan was looking all puppy-eyed at her. Sometimes all she needed to do was look at him, and she knew exactly what he was thinking.**

_**Maybe we should run, **_**his eyes were saying.**

_**Uh, where? **_**She said back to him silently.**

_**I will make myself invisible by using ninja mind control, **_**he was thinking.**

_**You have to HAVE a mind to do it, **_**she beamed to him.**

Dan would have retorted, but he wanted to get this chapter over with. Shorten the Kabra glory to as small as possible.

**Nellie peered out from the tunnel entrance. "What's going on?" she asked.**

"**It is routine," Ms. Rinaldi called out, turning to face Amy and Dan. "My supervisor tells me it is random check. You please wait here by the wall?"**

**She bustled away, holding the two boarding passes, and disappeared around the corner.**

"We never should have given the passes to her," Dan grumbled.

**From inside the tunnel, another attendant called out to Nellie, "Please take your seat. Don't worry, the plane will not leave without all passengers."**

"**I hate airports." Nellie rolled her eyes and turned back toward the plane. "See you inside. I'll save you a bag of peanuts."**

Natalie sniffed. "Peanuts," she muttered distastefully.

**As she disappeared, Amy hissed to her brother, "I knew it – they searched your duffel. They're going to detain us and contact Aunt Beatrice and that's the last we'll ever see of Nellie –"**

"**Will you stop being so gloomy?" Dan said. "We'll tell them someone else put the swor – the you-know-whats in the duffel. We never saw them before in our lives. We're kids. They always believe kids. And besides, maybe they **_**haven't **_**searched our bags. Maybe they're just double-checking your passport to make sure they can allow someone so ugly to board a plane –"**

**Amy elbowed him in the ribs.**

"Ow!" Dan yelped in pain. "What was that for, Amy?" Amy had done exactly what she had done in the book.

Ian opened his mouth to defend Amy from Daniel's words that she was ugly, but catching his mother's eye, quickly closed it. He didn't want to die.

"**Final boarding call, flight eight-oh-seven to Tokyo, gate four!" a voice boomed.**

**A third attendant was putting a web-ribbon barrier in front of the tunnel. **

**Amy was nervous now. They weren't going to hold the plane forever. "We have to get that flight attendant – Rinaldi," she said. "Come on!"**

**Amy grabbed Dan by the arm and they raced to the corner, taking it at a run.**

_**Whomp! **_**They ran smack into another pair who was racing toward the gate. Amy bounced away, the wind momentarily knocked out of her. She bumped into Dan, who nearly fell to the floor. "What the –" he blurted.**

**The two strangers were wrapped in full length black trench coats with high collars obscuring their faces. One of them wore expensive black dress shoes; the other, jewel encrusted sneakers. **

"Cobra alert," muttered Dan.

**As they barreled past Dan and Amy, waving boarding passes in the air, one of them called out, "Clear, please!" **

**Amy recognized the voice. She grabbed Dan and whirled around. The two were grabbing the barrier and pulling it aside. "Wait!" Amy said.**

**An airline official shouted at them, too, sprinting to head them off. The two politely stopped and handed over their boarding passes. He examined the passes quickly, nodded, and pulled back the barrier. "Enjoy your flight, Amy and Dan."**

Isabel Kabra was getting the gist of the whole situation. She smiled victoriously. Dan ground his teeth furiously. Even Hamilton looked a little mad at what he suspected what the Kabras had did.

**The two passengers stepped into the tunnel entrance and immediately turned around. They pulled down their raised collars and grinned. **

**Amy gasped at the sight of their cousins, their archrivals in the search for the 39 clues, a pair whose nastiness was surpassed only by their wealth and cunning. **

"_**Sayonara, **_**suckers!" sang Ian and Natalie Kabra.**

Dan snapped the book shut. "That's the end of the chapter."

All of the Kabras were smiling, and Vikram couldn't hide a flash of pride in his eyes. Alistair cleared his throat, making a lame comeback. It was the only one he could think of. "You pronounced _Sayonara _wrong," he said matter-of-factly.

The Kabras rolled their eyes and ignored him. But Amy wasn't finished. "Well," she said casually. "Y-you should b-be p-proud, Isabel."

Isabel raised her eyebrows. "And why is that, Amy?" her voice was poisonously sweet.

"Oh, y-you k-know," Amy answered. "B-because t-that's going t-to b-be one of the f-few t-things y-your kids a-actually g-get r-right." Amy smiled innocently.

Before Isabel could attack, Dan handed the book quickly to Hamilton. "Go, on, read the next chapter." Hamilton took the book and opened to the next chapter. Dan prayed that the next chapter wouldn't be so bad.


	2. Chapter 2 Part One

**A/N: Thanks to all for the reviews! They made me happy. Because of that, I have decided to devote my morning and part of my afternoon to posting the second chapter! Well, the first part of the second chapter. **

**Special thanks to my first reviewers. And this has not been edited, so there may be some mistakes. Bear with me, please.**

Hamilton opened to the next chapter and began to read. Everyone's eyes were on him, and he was beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable.

"**Chapter Two," **Hamilton read. He paused. "Why don't these chapters have names?"

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Because, you _dolt, _apparently the author didn't want the chapters to have names!"

Hamilton scowled. "My name is _Holt, _not _Dolt," _he said.

"_**Stop them!" **_**Dan and Amy ran toward the tunnel, shouting as loud as they could.**

**Quickly the boarding official stepped into their path. "Boarding passes, **_**por favore?" **_**he asked, his face a mix of bafflement and annoyance.**

**Amy watched helplessly as Ian and Natalie slipped into the tunnel's long shadow. They could hear the plane's hatch shut with a dull **_**thump.**_

"**They're – they're the Kabras!" Dan said. "Evil Kabras. **_**Famoso, evillo, Kabritos! **_**They are holding our au pair hostage!"**

Everyone burst out laughing, except for the Kabras. Saladin gave an amused _mrrp. _Even Alistair was chuckling softly.

Vikram spoke up. "Our tactics aren't evil," his voice was soft and deadly. "Our tactics are essential."

Dan laughed scornfully. "Right. In case you haven't noticed, Amy and me haven't used any of your tactics and we've found more clues than you."

"Amy and _I," _Amy corrected softly. Dan ignored her.

"We will not be compared to mere orphans," Isabel hissed. Hamilton, his danger alert thankfully enabled, continued to read.

**As a crowd of curious onlookers gathered, the official repeated, "No boarding passes?" **

**He was looking straight at Amy. Dan glanced frantically her way, his eyes screaming, **_**You're the older one – do something!**_

**The thoughts were firing around in Amy's brain like a broken laser-light show. How could the Kabras be here? She and Dan had left them unconscious in a smoldering room in Venice. Who had rescued them? How had they recovered so fast? How had they stolen the tickets?**

Isabel whirled around to face her kids. "What?" she hissed. "They left you two _unconscious _in Venice? You said that they managed to get away faster!"

Ian quailed. "Ummm….you see…." Natalie was silent.

Hamilton started to read again. Even if he was a Tomas, he didn't exactly want to see someone dead right now.

**Everyone was looking at Amy now. The whole airport. She hated when people stared at her. She hated it even worse when it involved being humiliated by the Kabras. They were always one step ahead, always one Clue closer to the Cahill secret. No matter how hard Amy and Dan tried, the Kabras were smarter, faster, and cooler – and ruthless. **

Natalie smiled. "It's nice to know."

Hamilton shook his head. "You're cooler than them," he said to Amy and Dan. He didn't like the Kabras much.

Alistair shook his head. "You've found more clues than they did."

**They were impersonating Dan and Amy. They were about to ambush a defenseless au pair.**

"I can take care of myself, kiddos," Nellie answered to the book.

**How could Amy possibly communicate all this? She opened her mouth to try, but it was too much. Too many eyes. She felt as if someone had tied off her vocal cords. Nothing came out.**

"**Ohhh-**_**kay, **_**thank you, Amy," Dan said. "Um, look, dude – officer – these guys? The Kabras? Well, actually, they're a guy and a girl? They ripped is off, okay? **_**Comprendo? **_**The tickets say Cahill, and they're not Cahill – well, technically they are, but it's a different branch of the family, they're like Janus, I mean **_**Lucians, **_**and we don't know what we are, I mean what **_**branch, **_**but we're related – anyway, we're all kind of involved in something, sort of this battle about our grandmother's will, you could say, but it's kind of a long story and **_**THEY HAVE TO BE STOPPED! PRONTO!"**_

Amy burst out laughing. Now that those events had already passed, she felt as if she had to laugh. Everyone was watching her now, and she quieted quickly.

"Woah, Amy," Dan commented. Suddenly he grinned. "But you gotta admit, I was pretty good."

Ian snorted. "Kabras are much more, how do you say it? Refined, while speaking."

Dan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Mr. I Am So Great Because I Am Rich Kabra, I don't think that snorting is considered _refined._

"**Sorry," the official said, "if you have no boarding –"**

**Amy grabbed Dan by the arm. This wasn't getting them anywhere. They needed to find Ms. Rinaldi – or the supervisor who had summoned her. That person would rank higher than anyone here. Maybe there was still a chance. Maybe they could stop the plane from taking off.**

**She and Dan ran toward the corner again and rounded it. They raced past the place where they had collided with the Kabras and immediately they emerged into the main corridor. In the distance they could see a line of shops. To their right was a supply closet and a glass door marked AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. **

"Yo, you gonna break in?" Jonah asked.

**To their left, a knot of onlookers surrounded the entrance to the women's room, where a group of EMT workers emerged, carrying a woman on a stretcher. Police were running in to join them from all directions.**

**Chaos. Total pandemonium. Amy strained to see around the rush of people as she ran, hoping to find a familiar face.**

**There. **

**A flash of blond hair, tossed over a shoulder, drew Amy's eyes to the right. "Dan, look!"**

"**Oh, **_**now **_**you can talk," Dan said. "What?"**

**Winding swiftly through the crowd was a tall woman in a Japan Airlines uniform about a size too large.**

**The sight of the familiar figure was enough to unlock Amy's loudest outdoor voice. "**_**IRINA!" **_**she blurted out.**

Alistair looked slightly surprised. "So she was there before."

**There was no mistaking Irina Spasky – the stiff military bearing, the blade-like motion of the shoulders as she walked. Irina was another of the Cahill family bent on finding the 39 Clues. Like Ian and Natalie, she was ruthless. Unlike Ian and Natalie, she had been trained in espionage by the KGB.**

Nellie smirked at the Kabras. Ever since Irina had died to save her au pairees, she had a relaxed attitude toward Irina. "See, that just shows how much cooler she is."

Amy and Dan both gave nods of agreement. "Yeah…," Amy murmured quietly.

**Irina did not turn. She showed no outward signs of hearing Amy, aside from a quickening of her step. **

**Then she disappeared into the throng as if she'd never been there.**

"**Stop her!" Dan sprinted forward, nearly colliding with a rather sour-looking man in a wheelchair.**

"_**Polizia!" **_**the man shouted, lifting his cane as if to whack Dan over the head.**

The Kabras burst out laughing. "Mama," Natalie said. "If Daniel got hit, can you imagine how his brain would be affected?"

Isabel smiled, but there was no warmth. "He would be an imbecile."

Vikram cleared his throat. "I believe that he is already an imbecile."

The Kabras continued to laugh. Amy felt rage rise up in her. "D-don't t-talk about D-dan like t-that!" she snarled.

"O-or w-what?" Natalie mocked. Amy's eyes flashed, and Hamilton tried to solve that by reading.

**Dan ducked. Amy pulled him away, trying to keep an eye on Irina. They plowed forward, elbowing their way around passengers.**

**When they emerged into a less crowded area near the end of the terminal, Irina was nowhere to be seen. "She's gone," Dan said.**

"**I – I don't believe this," Amy said, catching her breath. "She was working with Ian and Natalie. They sabotaged us **_**together."**_

"**Are we **_**sure **_**that was her?" Dan asked. "I mean, how would Irina manage to get that uniform?"**

"It's called _ambushing, _Daniel," Natalie sniggered. "Or do you need a dictionary?"

**Before he could finish the question, a voice shouted in Italian over a bullhorn, and the crowd quickly parted. A small ambulance made its way through the airport, siren blaring.**

**Murmurs were passing through the crowd, mostly in languages Amy didn't understand. But she spotted a couple with sunglasses, lots of cameras, awful Hawaiian shirts, and vapid smiles. "Look, Dan – Americans," she said. "Let's listen…"**

**They both wandered closer until they could hear snatches of conversation. The people were talking about the woman on the stretcher. **

**Dan looked confused. "She was salted in the ladies' room?"**

Saladin gave an exasperated _mrrp. _

"_**Assaulted," **_**Amy said. "She must have been the flight supervisor, Dan! Irina knocked her out and took her uniform."**

"**Wow," Dan replied, looking almost impressed. **

**Amy glanced toward the window, where she saw the jet slowly backing away from gate 4 and onto the tarmac.**

**They were leaving. Detached from the tunnel, taxiing for the runway.**

**Amy panicked. "Don't look now, but they're going!"**

"**Where's the door? We can still run after them!"**

"You should have," Natalie murmured. "Then you would have died."

"**Right. You do that, Dan. Meanwhile I'll try to talk my way onto the next flight – a ticket for **_**one, **_**while they're scraping your remains out of the jet engine that sucked you in." Amy began running again, back toward the reservation desk. "Or you can come with me!"**

**Outside, the windows of flight 807 were dull silver-black holes in the distance. Amy knew that behind one of them was Nellie, in a situation no human being should ever have to face. **

**She was alone with the Kabras. **

"And that's bad, how?" Natalie tried to pull off an innocent look. But her reputation was well known, and it was a failure.

Jonah mumbled something that nobody heard. "I'd rather be alone with the Kabras than Amy and Dan, yo." Ever since he had found out that Amy and Dan were Madrigals, he had been a bit more wary. Not so much that he would be noticed, and even though he knew Amy and Dan weren't exactly evil, he still was careful.

Vikram was more interested in these books than he let on. "Keep reading," he ordered Hamilton.

Hamilton hesitated. "There's a weird thing in the page," he said. Amy frowned, and reached for the book. Hamilton let her take it, confused.

"It's just a break," Amy explained. "It means either time has passed or the book is switching to another perspective."

"Oh," Hamilton looked dumbfounded, secretly embarrassed of his ignorance.

Amy scanned the rest of the page quickly and handed it to Natalie. "Y-you s-should read t-this," she smirked.

Hamilton shrugged, indifferent.

Natalie was about to open the book and read when Dan interrupted.

"What is it now, Daniel?" Natalie looked annoyed.

"I'm hungry," he announced. Amy looked exasperated. "Dan, there's no food here."

Everyone began to look slightly worried. "But I need food too!" Hamilton said. Now that Dan mentioned it, he wanted a huge burger with a large side of fries with ketchup.

Natalie froze. It wasn't the food, it was…. "Shopping!" she exclaimed. She was beginning to panic. "If we can't leave this room, I can't go shopping!"

Everyone looked at her as if she were crazy, except for Isabel. "You can survive without shopping," Ian assured her, trying to stop a tantrum.

"No we can't!" Isabel shrieked. "We can't wear the same outfit twice!"

Dan rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I want food!"

As if on cue, there was a golden flash. Another letter floated down. Dan snatched it up, hoping it was an answer to his hunger.

_Dear everyone,_

_I know there is the problem of food, and in Natalie and Isabel's case, shopping._

"No shit, Sherlock," Dan mumbled. Amy glared at him. "Don't take Sherlock's name in vain," she whispered quietly, so only he could hear. Dan ignored her, as always.

_Food will be provided. Just clap your hands when you want food and say the word "Hopscotch." Then say the food you want. _

Dan stopped. "Awesome!" But before he and Hamilton could do what the letter had instructed, Natalie had snatched the letter from Dan.

_As for shopping, that will not be possible._

"Noooooooooooooooooooooo!" Natalie screamed. Everyone flinched.

_I cannot bring malls into this room. So Natalie, Isabel, deal with it. I am not a servant._

Dan chortled at the expression on Natalie's face. Natalie frantically scanned the rest of the letter, but that had been the last sentence. Angrily, she ripped the letter up.

"What kind of person is KLK?" she fumed. "When we get out of here I am going to kill her!"

Dan and Hamilton ignored her. Together, they clapped their hands and chorused, "Hopscotch!"

Dan said, "Peanut butter and jelly and banana on white sandwich with a Snickers bar and soda!"

Hamilton shouted, "Three hamburgers with two large fries with ketchup and one large soda and three Kit Kat bars!"

Simultaneously, the meals appeared. Dan moaned in delight as he attacked his food.

Everyone except for Dan and Hamilton looked disgusted at the eating behavior. Saladin looked at the food longingly, and looked at Amy.

"_Mrrp?" _Saladin meowed. Amy, sensing that Saladin was hungry, clapped her hands and said "Hopscotch!"

Only this time, she ordered red snapper and barramundi (courtesy of Uncle Shep to the latter), for Saladin. Saladin stalked to the food and began to eat enthusiastically.

"Well," Alistair sighed. "Might as well eat."

Slowly, everyone began to order food, except for Natalie and Isabel, who still looked infuriated at the shopping restrain order.

The chapter would be finished later.


	3. Chapter 2 Part Two

**A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! They made my day. They really did. Considering that this is my first fanfiction.**

**As from now on, I'll split chapters into sections if I come across one of those pause thingies in the book that Amy graciously explained to the Hammer. And also, there won't be another update until next week. There might be another one tomorrow. I need to return the book to the library because the due date is on Wednesday and then I'll need to request it again. Sorry for the delays.**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter, though it is rather short. Most of it was in Part One.**

**And the disclaimer that I have forgotten. I am sure you all know that I do not own 39 Clues, but here it is anyway: I do not in any way own the 39 Clues series.**

By now everyone had finished eating. Dan was taking the last bite out of his Snickers bar when he mumbled, "Wher to I shrow out by har-bige?"

Amy looked at him in disgust. "Repeat please, this time with _nothing _in your mouth."

Dan swallowed and burped. "I _said, _"Where do I throw out my garbage?"

Amy shrugged. But suddenly the leftover plates and trash vanished, leaving no trace of any food. Dan's eyes widened.

"KLK's a ninja! Maybe I can do that too!" Dan had officially fallen in love with this mysterious KLK.

Natalie huffed. "You have to be clever to know how to do that, and you Daniel, are not smart." She picked up the book and flipped to the page they'd left off of.

"Now if you'd excuse me, Daniel," she snapped. "I want to continue reading."

Dan stuck his tongue out at her impishly. Slowly, everyone else quieted, watching Natalie. Natalie loved being in the spotlight, and she preened under all this attention.

**Dan followed Amy past the crowded security checkpoint, back toward the reception desk. The line for tickets doubled around at least three times, and they took their places at the back.**

"See, that's one the best things of being a Kabra," Natalie boasted. "We have our own private jet."

"No one asked you," Dan snapped, but there was no real irritation behind his words. Food had mellowed him, and he was content for the time being.

**They exchanged a silent glance. Amy knew Dan was thinking exactly the same thing she was. He sighed, his saddened eyes wandering slowly to the conveyor belt. "Saladin's on the plane too," Dan said. "And our swords."**

Saladin gave a mournful _mrrp._

**Amy fought the urge to just collapse and cry. Right there in the middle of the terminal. Everything was going wrong. It had been a seven-year string of bad luck, ever since their parents died in that house fire. How were Amy and Dan supposed to do this alone? The Kabras had money. Their parents supported them. Plus, they were working with Irina. The Holts were a whole family. Jonah Wizard had his father planning every moment of his life. It was Amy and Dan against…families. Teams. Generations. They didn't stand a chance.**

Natalie snorted. "Then quit," she said matter-of-factly.

Ian was silent. He couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Amy and Dan. They didn't even know their family branch yet, though there were rumors that the Janus branch knew.

**If only Grace had told them earlier, back when their mom and dad had been alive. If only they were alive now! Thinking about them just made Amy feel worse. She'd been dreaming about them every night. She'd see their faces at odd times – smiling, confident, kind. She could sense their approval or disapproval, their pride whenever she got things right. They'd be there in her mind and then – **_**whoosh! **_**Gone. And she'd feel the loss all over.**

Dan was silent now, hating that fact that Amy remembered more of their parents than him. But it wasn't worth getting mad; the previous fight when he thought that Amy had been trying to keep Grace's memories to herself had proved that.

"**Amy?" Dan said quizzically. And there they were – **_**again.**_** In the eyes of El Dweebo.**

"Hey!" Dan protested. He was getting annoyed at Amy's insults. Amy chuckled softly.

**Not their faces exactly, but **_**them. **_**Looking out at her, as if they'd just borrowed Dan's features for a moment. Which no other sane person would do.**

"So I guess that fight about the memories was my fault, wasn't it?" Dan murmured quietly to Amy. Amy smiled slightly.

Jonah and Hamilton were flummoxed. "Where are we the only ones not knowing what's going on here?" Hamilton demanded. But they received no answer.

**In that moment, she knew exactly what the right decision was. **

"**There's a flight leaving at five-ten," she said, reading the overhead departure screen. "Nellie's safety is at stake. We have to follow."**

"Come on," Natalie groaned. "We aren't that bad." A look from her mother quickly changed her mind.

Nellie rolled her eyes. "Like I said before, kiddos, I can take care of myself." Saladin gave an agreeing _mrrp._

Dan and Amy exchanged looks. They knew now that Nellie could take care of herself. She had proved that many times. Too many times.

"**Hey, coolio – no retreat, **_**no surrender!" **_**Dan whooped. "So. Any thoughts about how we're going to pay for it?"**

_**WAWWP! WAWWP! WAWWP! WAWWP!**_

Natalie said this in a normal, bored tone. Dan groaned. "At least read it right," he whined.

"Kabras do not shout," Isabel said stiffly.

Ian and Natalie disagreed silently. Isabel Kabra shouted plenty. She screamed plenty too.

**An alarm rocked the terminal, stopping all conversation. As a terse announcement resounded, first in Italian, then French, then German, sections of the crowd began heading for the entrance – until finally:**

"_**Ladies and gentlemen, please proceed immediately to the nearest exit, as this terminal must be evacuated for safety reasons…"**_

**A scream ripped the air, and then people were rushing, falling over one another. Amy ran toward the door, pulling her brother behind her, listening to shouted fragments around them, some of them in English.**

"**Bomb scare…"**

"**Terrorists…"**

"**Anonymous phone call…"**

"See," Dan remarked to the Kabras. "That's what you are. Terrorists."

Isabel smiled. "I'm glad you are terrified of us."

Dan twitched. "I'm not terrified of you," he lied. But he was. The very sight of the Kabras sent shivers down his spine. But no one was ever going to know that.

**They reached the door and pushed their way through. The day had turned gray, but the winding access roads were dotted with the headlights of approaching vehicles. Passengers crowded the sidewalks, shouting into cell phones, hurtling toward buses and cabs. Dan and Amy pushed against the crush of bodies toward the curb, where the last of a group had climbed onto a bus.**

**The door shut in their faces and the bus farted its way noisily into the clogged road.**

"Ha!" Natalie seemed to be on a roll right now with insulting Dan and Amy.

Dan glared back at her and grumbled something unintelligible.

**Dan ran after it, banging on the window. "Stop! **_**Pasta!"**_

"Pasta?" Amy said in bewilderment.

"_**Pasta?" **_**Amy said in bewilderment.**

"Woah," Dan muttered. "Freaky."

"**I have a limited vocabulary!" Dan shouted. **

"Of course you do," Natalie muttered.

"_**Linguini! Mangia! Buon giorno! Gucci!"**_

**A black limo screeched to a halt inches away, nearly hitting her.**

"**Gucci. I knew that would do it," Dan said.**

**The tinted window on the driver's side rolled down, and a man wearing sunglasses and a thick mustache calmly gestured for them to get in.**

"How do you wear a mustache?" Hamilton asked.

"You don't," Dan answered. "You just have one."

"Oh." Hamilton shrugged.

**Amy opened the passenger door and climbed inside, yanking her brother in after her.**

"**Hey!" shouted another frantic passenger, pulling a wad of cash from his pocket and waving it at the driver through the window. "**_**Soldi, soldi!"**_

**Dan pulled his door shut and three people fell on the car, banging and shouting. The driver forward and let his window roll up, nearly amputating the arm of the man with the money.**

Amy felt sympathy for the man well up inside her. There were desperate people out there. But she knew that with the clue hunt, you had to take desperate measures. And sometimes, you had to harden your heart.

"**Dude, thanks," Dan said to the driver. "Or **_**gracias **_**or whatever."**

"**Ve go to de udder airport?" the man replied in a deep accent that did not sound Italian.**

"**There's another airport?" Dan said.**

"**Small craft," the man replied.**

"**But –" Amy stammered. "We don't have any mon –"**

"That's right Amy, tell him we're out of cash," Dan mumbled. Amy elbowed him in the ribs.

"I had to tell him the truth," Amy explained. Dan rolled his eyes.

**Dan poked her in the ribs. **

"**I have to tell the truth," Amy whispered.**

**Dan poked her again.**

**Amy glared at him. "**_**Will you please stop –?"**_

"Nope," Dan answered.

**It was only then that she saw the other person sitting in the backseat. An Asian man with a placid smile, dressed in a silk suit with white gloves and a bowler hat.**

"**Greetings, my elusive relatives," purred Alistair Oh.**

Natalie dropped the book. "Where do we come in?" she demanded. She didn't want to read a book where only Amy and Dan starred.

"Who's going to read next?" Hamilton asked.

"Uncle Alistair should," Dan replied.

Everyone looked at him.

"Eh?" Alistair seemed to have zoned out.

"Were you even listening?" Natalie demanded. She was offended that someone wasn't listening to her awesome voice.

"Yes, I was," Alistair said, none too convincingly. He shrugged again and reached for the book. "I suppose I'll read next."

Everyone settled down and waited expectantly. The book had turned out to be much more interesting than expected. Though Jonah and Hamilton were a little miffed that they didn't show up yet.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello everyone! It turned out that I could renew The Sword Thief, so here's the third chapter. Late, but better late then never. And also I will be dedicated each chapter from this point forward to a random reviewer. So here's to doxygrl101, my very first reviewer!**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not, in any form or way, own the 39 Clues. If I did, I would be rich right now**

**................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................**

Alistair opened the book to the next chapter, beginning to read.

**Alistair's father had always said that in every Oh there was an element of surprise.**

**Not that Alistair remembered him actually saying it, considering Alistair had been a child when he died. But it was an Oh family trait to mix truth with a touch of wit.**

Alistair read this, sadness slowly welling up inside him. His father, killed by his own jealous brother. This was more of a Lucian conspiracy than Ekaterina.

Amy looked at Alistair in shock. "Y-your f-father's d-d-dead?"

Alistair gave a small nod, staring forward. Amy was silent, sensing that he needed the comfort of his own thoughts.

Natalie, tactless as ever, sneered, "I don't see any wit with truth, Oh."

Amy whipped around to glare at her. "Leave him alone," she snarled, rage covering her stutter. Natalie was so shocked that she didn't reply. It seemed Amy was growing a backbone.

Alistair slowly began to read again.

**Alas, the Cahill children's hostile silence perplexed Alistair. He would have thought they'd have enjoyed this particular surprise.**

_**Screeee…screeeee…**_

**As Serge yanked the steering wheel left and right, forcing the car into space no normal human would dare to go, the children lurched from side to side.**

"So Serge isn't a normal human?" Hamilton asked.

Dan rolled his eyes. "No one in this room is a normal human."

"Nice to know we're all aliens," Amy replied to her brother.

**They seemed loathe to touch Alistair or even look at him, as if he were some distasteful substance, like boiled asparagus. As if he had not just snatched them from the jaws of chaos to deliver them back to their chosen path.**

"We were like that?" Dan asked in surprise.

Hamilton frowned. "Boiled asparagus isn't distasteful."

**He tried to smile reassuringly at them. He felt for them. They looked so small, so scared, so lonely. He understood the feeling. More than they knew.**

Amy looked at Alistair with sympathy. Now she knew that he knew what it felt to lose a parent at a young age. Perhaps the books were a good thing.

"Scared?" Dan demanded, trying to act all macho. "I'm a ninja, Uncle Alistair. Ninjas are never scared."

Natalie huffed. "You looked scared in that plane is Australia," she snapped.

Dan rolled his eyes again. "Oh please," he replied. "_You _and Cobra were the ones screaming your heads off."

Jonah, Alistair, and Hamilton looked at him in confusion. "What happened, yo?" Jonah shouted.

Isabel sighed as if she was the only one with a brain. "It was an accident," she said smoothly. "I lost control of the car and it nearly crashed into Amy and Daniel's plane."

"Accident?" Amy shrieked. Everyone stared at her in shock. She was normally so quiet, so unassuming. But Amy didn't care now. She couldn't stand the way Isabel cared so little about her children, even if Amy didn't like them.

"You nearly killed them," she hissed, her eyes blazing. She saw a flicker of what seemed like fear in Isabel's eyes. "You tried to stop our plane by driving the car in front of it!"

Dan gaped at his sister. "Whoa, Amy," he murmured. "Now if only you could do that when authority officials ask you questions."

Jonah looked sickened, and he shifted away from Isabel Kabra. "Yo, you're sick, man."

Ian was watching Amy with interest. She was growing stronger, standing up to his mother, something even he didn't dare do. Amy Cahill was certainly an interesting person.

Alistair tried to divert their attention by continuing, though he was surprised by Isabel's ruthlessness.

"**Gyess what?" shouted Serge over the noise of furious honking. "**_**I **_**chave keeds too – gerrl fourteen, boy elyeven! Yes! True. They leeve in Moscow!"**

**Alistair kept an eye on Dan, who was looking quite sick. The boy had tried the door handle for what must have been the twentieth time in the last two minutes. Luckily, Alistair had made sure that the safety locks had been activated. "Do not bother, please," he said. "You will only give yourself carpal tunnel problems later in life. And besides that, you are making me nervous for your safety."**

"What's carpal tunnel?" Hamilton and Jonah asked simultaneously. No one answered. Amy didn't feel like answering, and no one else felt like giving an explanation.

Hamilton and Jonah looked at each other and sighed.

"**So you were behind all this, huh?" Dan said. "With the Kabras and Irina. And the bomb scare. You're working with them now."**

**Alistair's face twitched. He knew it would be difficult to earn their trust. Wild accusations were to be expected. He knew there would be resentment, and understandably so. Leaving them in a burning house on the day of the will reading had been an unfortunate necessity – but a personal and strategic mistake. One he regretted deeply. "Believe me, my dear nephew, I don't have the slightest idea –"**

"**Believe you?" Dan replied, spinning around to face him eye to eye. "Let's see. You abandoned us when Grace's house was collapsing around us. You planted a tracking device on Saladin –"**

"**Tracking device? **_**This?"**_** Alistair reached into his pocket and pulled out an electronic device the size of a lapel pin. "I believe you planted it on me. At the museum in Salzburg, while I was dozing."**

Amy reddened slightly. "Sorry, Uncle Alistair," she murmured. "But I needed to throw whoever was following Dan and me off track."

Alistair shrugged. "I found out sooner or later anyway, my dear child."

"**You d-d-deserved that, Uncle Alistair," Amy said uneasily, "after having hidden it in Saladin's collar in the f-f-first place."**

"Actually Amy," Alistair said, "I believe Mr. McIntyre planted it on you."

Dan gaped. "What? He wouldn't do that! Not after he – " Amy cut him off abruptly, glaring at him.

Everyone was watching them curiously now. "After he did what?" Vikram asked in a deadly voice.

"Ummmm…." Dan stuttered. "You see…."

Amy tried to say something, but her brief courage had fled and she couldn't say anything. Dan sighed.

"After he, um, helped us?" Dan squeaked nervously.

Vikram Kabra looked murderous. "He was not supposed to help anyone," he hissed. Already he was thinking up plans to kill Mr. McIntyre and to tighten up security in the various Lucian strongholds.

Alistair thankfully began to read again.

"**No again, darling girl," Alistair replied with a warm smile, hoping to calm the girl's nerves. "Someone else was keeping tabs on you. Not I. Remember, many others in the family are competing for the clues. I am on your side. I, as you know, believe in cooperation."**

"**Oh, that's hilarious," Dan shot back. "Tell it to Comedy Central."**

_**Patience. Ever patience. **_**Alistair folded his white-gloved hands over his lap. "Consider exactly who rescued you today," he said. "And who, in a very short time, managed not only to find you but to devise a method of escape. Consider also that as an added bonus, I am about to take you wherever it is you need to go. By private plane. All of this, and I ask only one thing in return – the location of where you are headed. Which, under the circumstances, is rather a necessity.**

The Kabras were silent, the two Lucian leaders already devising plans. If Alistair's strategy worked, then perhaps they could also do this to the Cahills to gain information.

"**You have your own p-plane?" Amy asked.**

**Alistair smiled modestly. "Well, not mine. But I still have business connections, favors I can call in during times of emergency. There are so financial advantages to being the inventor of microwavable burritos."**

Natalie snickered. "Advantages? Like what? Free food?"

Everyone ignored her.

"**Ve stock zem on ze plane!" Serge said. "Biff, cheecken, cheese…"**

**Good old Serge. Experience had taught them both the value of the Oh company motto: The way to a young person's heart is through microwavable burritos.**

Dan chortled. "That's rich, Uncle Alistair," he told him.

**Amy exhaled. "Okay, once we're on this plane – **_**if **_**we agree – what assurances do we have that –"**

"_**Amy!" **_**Dan blurted. "Uh, no way, Goldfinger. If we're going to do this, we're doing it ourselves!"**

**Amy glared at him. "So I guess we're **_**swimming **_**to Japan? Drop us off at a mall, Uncle Alistair. I need flippers. The really big kind? With mad shark repellent?**

"Amy…" Dan muttered tetchily.

Amy was silent. Too bad mad shark repellent didn't exist. Otherwise she'd be rid of Isabel Kabra and her loving sharks.

Isabel Kabra however, was hanging on to every word. Somehow, those two _orphans _had managed to get ahead of the game. She was looking for something that she could try to get Ian and Natalie clues.

**Dan groaned. "You said the J word, Amy! You **_**told **_**him!"**

"**What are our choices, Dan?" Amy said. "They have Nellie and Saladin and our s –"**

"Amy…" Dan repeated. Amy sighed. "I know, I know."

**Amy stopped short, and Alistair glanced at her encouragingly. The poor thing had been making such great progress with her shyness. "Your…?" he said. **

Amy glared at Alistair. "Poor thing?" she asked incredously.

Alistair shrugged.

Jonah chuckled. "Yo, poor thing, how you doin'?"

Amy gritted her teeth. Hamilton slapped her on the back good-naturedly, grinning and laughing. But there was no real malice, unlike Jonah, and though Amy buckled from the slap she did not glare at Hamilton.

"**S-s-suitcases," she replied.**

**Alistair nodded. **_**Japan. **_**Excellent. So that was where the next Clue would be. A fruitful turn of events. He leaned forward to his driver. "Can we handle Japan, Serge?"**

**The driver shrugged. "Vell, eez long treep. Ve must stop for refueling halfvay. In Moscow. I call ahead. Vhen ve stop, you can meet my keeds – Kolya and Tinatchka!"**

Isabel looked disgusted. "What a horrible accent," she scowled, marring her beautiful face.

"**Serge, please," Alistair said. "This is not a social trip."**

**Serge let out a deep belly laugh. "Kolya and Tinatchka not socialists!"**

Alistair paused. "There's another break," he told them.

Dan sighed. "How much longer until the chapter ends?" he asked.

Alistair squinted down. "About two pages," he informed him.

Dan threw up his hands, exasperated. "Then read!" he exclaimed. "It's only two pages. But you better hurry up, Uncle Alistair, because I'm getting hungry."

Amy poked Dan. "You just ate about ten minutes ago!"

Dan shrugged. "So?" Amy left him alone, not in the mood to argue anymore than that. Besides, everyone else was watching them.

Alistair scratched his head. "I continue?"

Dan almost screamed. "Yes, you continue!"

**Dan glared at his sister. **_**Swords, **_**she'd been about to say. **_**They have Nellie and Saladin and our swords. **_**At least she corked herself on that one. Giving away their destination to the slippery dude was one thing. Giving away their Clue was another. **_**Some **_**things had to stay secret. Even sisterus dorkus knew that.**

Now it was Amy who glared at her brother at his insult.

**He recognized the look in Amy's eyes right now. It was more than the usual disgust, more than her usual variations of **_**You dweeb, **_**and **_**No, it's not time to eat. **_**This one said, **_**If you screw this up, I will kill you.**_

**Which was exactly how he was feeling. **

**Uncle Alistair reached into his pocket and pulled out two small electronic devices, which he held out to Dan and Amy with fake cheeriness, like a demented butler pretending to be Santa Claus. "These are state-of-the-art GPS devices. Attach them to your phones, as I have done to mine. I have not yet figured out how to one-twenty-eight-bit-decrypt the signal, but the lower default encryption should suffice. The point is, once we are in Japan, we cannot lose one another."**

Nellie, who had been silent for the past few minutes, spoke up. "Not figured out yet?" she demanded. "You're an Ekaterina, aren't you supposed to be the smart ones?"

Alistair folded his arms, dropping the book in the process. "I cannot do everything, dear Nellie," he said stiffly.

Nellie rolled her eyes.

**Serge was flashing an ID pass to a guard at a gate now. The limo entered a narrow road leading to a tiny airport. It glided past several small propeller planes and stopped next to a long, open hangar.**

**Serge quickly got out and held the passenger door open. Beaming, he gestured grandly toward the hangar. "Say hello to my darling Ludmila."**

Hamilton blinked slowly. "You have another kid?" he asked the book.

"**Another keed?" Dan asked. "How many do you have?" He looked left and right. The place seemed empty except for a few small jets and some burly half-shaven crew members, none of whom looked like a Ludmila.**

"Horrible name," Natalie sniffed.

"**Um…I don't see her," Amy said meekly.**

**But Dan was distracted by a flash of silver. A ridiculously sleek jet rolled into view. It had tinted windows, a profile like a knife, and an open cockpit that seemed to beckon, **_**Enter for the coolest ride of your life.**_

The Kabras looked bored. "That's the best you can do?" Ian said incredulously. "Kabra planes are much better."

Hamilton's reaction was different. "Whoa," he murmured. "That's awesome!" Then he frowned. "But where's Ludmila?"

Dan grinned proudly. "It is awesome," he said happily.

"**This," said Serge, as the jet rolled to a stop in front of them, "is Ludmila."**

Hamilton burst out laughing, a deep roar that seemed to shake the air. "Sweet," he said, wiping his eyes. "Naming a plane Ludmila!"

Dan grinned, and he was about to mention his favorite car when Natalie interrupted.

"Who's reading next?" she demanded. Ian looked up. "I would like to," he said smoothly, in a tone that plainly stated that he was going to read no matter what.

Alistair scanned the first page of the next chapter and grinned. Handing it to the Kabra heir, he said, "I'm sure you'll have fun reading this."

Ian took the book and opened to the right page. Smiling devilishly at Natalie, he began to read.


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for the late update. But from now on, I will have two chapters up each week. I know it's not much, but hopefully I'll put a lot of stuff in each chapter. Time just doesn't favor me right now.**

**Special thanks to Miranda Cahill of Conte, the reviewer for this chapter! All reviewers chosen are completely random, so please don't get mad at me if I haven't mentioned you yet.**

**Special thanks to RoyalDanielle, who I believe will be betaing (is that a word)? for chapters five and onward in this fanfiction.**

**And special thanks to all of my reviewers! Your reviews are like ice cream without brain freezes or sugar highs. **

**Hopefully there aren't much spelling or grammatical errors, but I have no time to edit or revise.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**...**

Ian settled back comfortably as he held the book up and began to read. A chance to make fun of Natalie. A chance to get his parents mad. The latter was undesirable, the first desirable. But he had to read anyhow.

Dan sighed impatiently. "Hurry up, Cobra!" he complained. "I'm getting hungry here!"

Ian rolled his eyes in exasperation.

**The peculiar word COACH on Natalie's plane ticket had conjured up images of leather benches, uniformed coachmen, and fine horses.**

**Not tiny, hard seats and a pig.**

Dan burst out laughing. He wasn't the only one; Nellie, Alistair, Ian, Hamilton, Amy, and even Saladin laughed. Well, Saladin gave an amused _mrrp._

Natalie huffed. Isabel and Vikram looked murderous. "Why am I paying for your education?" Isabel hissed to her daughter. "You don't know anything!"

Natalie quailed. Dan, seeing a chance to bring Natalie down as revenge for what she did previously, said, "See, that just shows how much you don't know."

Dan smiled innocently.

Ian began to read again: even if he didn't particularly like his sister, he knew how it felt under the disapproving gazes of his parents.

**It wasn't so much the babysitter's attitude.**

"Au pair, Cobra," Dan told Natalie.

**Which was horrid. Or the tattoos and piercings. Which someday would cause the girl such embarrassment at her job – that is, should she ever find a real one. It wasn't even the girl's rudeness upon seeing Natalie and her brother. Granted, a warm hello and hugs were not warranted under the circumstances, but the stream of barnyard epithets was a bit…well, unseemly. To say the least.**

"Yes!" Dan cheered Nellie. "You managed to make them annoyed!"

Nellie rolled her eyes. "Don't get too happy, kiddo," she warned.

**Yet all of the above was to be expected from a person of Nellie's station. And Natalie and Ian could withstand the crudeness. Some sacrifices were necessary in order to get the information they needed. **

**No, the worst part was the **_**sloppiness. **_

Dan rolled his eyes. "That's only because you're freakishly neat," he told Natalie.

**The candy wrappers and the potato chip shards on the seats to either side of her, the backpack plopped on the floor between her feet instead of tucked under the seat in front. The nervous habit of shoveling fistfuls of snack mix into her mouth and chewing while speaking. Dreadful.**

"Wonderful," Dan and Hamilton chorused together. They grinned in synchronization.

Isabel looked disgusted. "Dreadful," she repeated, looking at Nellie as if she were the lowest scum on earth.

Nellie grinned at the Kabras. "Dreadful? I'll make sure to be devastating next time. Dreadful just doesn't cut it."

Ian flinched from the au pair. "Natalie, you take care of her next time," he said.

Natalie glared venomously at Ian. "You little –"

Ian smiled innocently, making Amy's heart beat faster. Then he started to read again.

_**Sloppy habits make a sloppy mind, **_**according to the old Kabra family saying. Or maybe that was from **_**Barlett's Familiar Quotations. **_**Natalie wasn't quite sure.**

Isabel was furious. "Why am I paying for your education?" she hissed, seeming to repeat her words from before.

**She winced as the loathsome babysitter spoke with a mouthful of food.**

"**Soffy, unca wassoosa, y'nah gongahwawee!" Nellie said, spitting bits of peanut and Chex from the corners of her mouth.**

**Natalie's brother, Ian, picked a fleck of Rice Krispie from his otherwise flawless jet-black hair. "Swallow, please, and repeat?"**

**Nellie gulped. "Sorry, I don't care what you say, you're not going to get away with this."**

"**Oh?" Ian looked over his shoulder, up and down the crowded jetliner. "Do I see anyone sympathizing with your plight? No? What do you say, Natalie – did we get away with it?"**

"No, you didn't," Dan muttered, glaring at Ian.

"**You can do this the easy way, you know, by answering one simple question…" Natalie pressed. They had asked Nellie a dozen times, and each answer had been sassier than the last. She would learn, though. If she knew what was good for her. And if not, well, the Kabras had other ways. "So. One last time – why are you going to Japan?"**

"I know what's good for me," Nellie told Natalie sweetly.

Hamilton sighed. Sometimes he felt that the Kabras were stupider than the Holts. "Why would she tell you?" he asked Natalie. "Naturally she would refuse."

Natalie blinked slowly. "I'm a Kabra," she said matter-of-factly.

"Yes," Dan said, his expression serious. "A very stupid Kabra."

Natalie gasped in shock. Her face reddened and she snarled furiously at the grinning boy.

"Uh…" Ian hastily picked up the book.

**Nellie yanked a magazine out of the seat pocket in front of her, sending a set of earphones and some used tissues flying toward Ian, who leaped with a barely concealed **_**yeep **_**of disgust. "Because I love Sudoku," Nellie said. "You can get the best Sudoku puzzles on a flight to Japan, duh? Don't you know **_**anything?"**_

"Nope," Amy murmured, almost inaudibly, so only Natalie heard.

"You annoying little orphan –"

Dan looked puzzled. "Why are you talking to an invisible person?"

Natalie was about to shriek in anger as she stood up from her seat in a sofa. But just as she did, there was a loud _rrrrrip _sound. The sound of tearing fabric.

"AIEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE E!" Natalie shrieked as if she were a banshee. Dan clapped his hands over his ears.

"My dress! My custom made silk Gucci dress!" Natalie screamed.

Everyone recoiled from her. "Natalie, dear," Isabel's voice was sharp. "Screaming and shrieking are most unseemly."

Natalie did not quiet down. "My dress! It's ruined! And it was couture!"

Dan sighed. "Just buy another one. There's bound to be a dress on sale in a department store or something that looks like it."

Natalie glared at him. "I do not wear peasant clothing, or any clothing that is off the rack!"

Amy was growing impatient. "Is it a small rip?" she demanded. She was getting tired of the Kabras' attitude.

Natalie scowled. "No. It's about three inches wide!"

Jonah's eyes widened. "Man, that's big!"

Hamilton looked confused. "That's small. Sit down."

Natalie waved her arms around her head, giving a small shriek of annoyance. "Mama! I need to go shopping!"

Dan grinned. "Didn't you see what KLK wrote? No shopping available!" Dan's voice was bright.

Ian was annoyed. Trying to pacify things, he began reading.

"**Coffee, tea, complimentary snack packet, or anything else I can assist you with to make this your best flight ever?" a flight attendant piped up, walking slowly up the aisle.**

That was all Ian could get through. Natalie had began to attack the sofa, clawing at it when she suddenly stopped and screamed again.

"MY NAILS! They're ruined!" She screeched.

"What do you expect, Cobra?" Dan demanded.

"I'll sue! I'll sue KLK! I'll sue you, Daniel!" her high pitched voice rose in indignation.

"Natalie," Isabel's voice was lethal. "Please sit down. We will have time to kill this KLK later."

Natalie recoiled from her mother's poisonous voice, reluctantly sinking back onto the sofa. Ian, playing peacemaker, cleared his throat and started to read again.

"**A Diet Coke and a restraining order please?" Nellie said. "Because these two are **_**not **_**supposed to be in these seats, and they are harassing me."**

**Ian let out a hearty laugh. "Ha-ha! Oh, Cousin Nell, you always crack me up with your jokes and whatnot – doesn't she, uh, Amy?"**

"**Yes, Daniel," Natalie replied. "Just like back home. In…Homedale."**

Dan glared at Natalie. "It's Dan, not Daniel." That being said, he burst out laughing.

Amy glared at Ian. "B-boston, not H-homedale."

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Now about my dress…"

"**Oh that's convincing," Nellie said. "Is there a cop on board? Because if there's not, I want to make a citizen's arrest. Can you do that in Italy, or wherever we are?"**

**Smiling uneasily, the flight attendant placed a Diet Coke on Nellie's tray. As she stood back up, Natalie turned to the baffled woman and circled her finger by her ear in a subtle **_**cuckoo **_**gesture.**

**Outside the window, lightning flashed. The plane suddenly began to lurch. "Heh-heh, well, looks like we're experiencing just a bit of bumpiness here…" the pilot said over the PA.**

**The flight attendant began pushing her cart back up the aisle, calling out, "Please return your seats to the upright position."**

**Ian groaned. "I – I'm not feeling too well…"**

**As he keeled forward, face turning green, it was Nellie's turn to look alarmed. **

**Natalie smiled. She and Ian had planned this. Certain signals for certain contingencies. **

Nellie scowled. "Remind me to never help the Kabras again," she said flatly.

Jonah scooted away from the Kabras. Alistair looked at the Kabras thoughtfully. It was almost exactly what he had done to his uncle, Bae Oh.

**Kabras were the masters of tight planning. Ian's act meant one thing only, and Natalie knew just what to do. **

**Still, she couldn't help but feel pity for the girl. Underneath the raffishness there was a bit of spunk and spirit. In another circumstance, another time, she would have made a good Kabra employee.**

Nellie looked nauseated. "Eww. Never."

Vikram looked shocked at what his daughter had been thinking. "We do not employ people of her station," he said haughtily, his British accent making him seem all the more regal.

"**Uh, you're not going to be sick, are you?" Nellie said. "Because I hate the sight of puke." She leaned forward to sift through all the detritus on the floor, looking for an air-sickness bag.**

**There. **

**While Nellie was away, Natalie reached into her pocket and extracted a small vial of dark liquid. With a deft motion, she lifted the vial to Nellie's soda. Two drops was all that was needed.**

"Yo, you tried to poison her?" Jonah asked incredulously. "I ain't doin' no more work with all ya Kabras, yo."

Isabel gave a nod of approval toward Natalie. "It seems you finally got something right," she murmured quietly, low enough for only Natalie to hear.

Natalie reddened slightly, and embarrassment permeated her. She felt as if she could do nothing right, and that everything she did was never enough for Isabel Kabra. Feeling her eyes begin to water, she angrily forced the tears back. No one could see her weakness.

**The plane jumped again, causing Natalie to flinch, and the entire contents of the vial spilled inside the Coke. **

**Oops.**

"Oops?" Dan shouted. "That's all you can say?"

Isabel hissed angrily at Natalie. "You foolish girl," she seemed more snake like by the moment. "Can you do nothing right?"

Natalie did nothing, staring forward as if she did not hear her mother. Clenching her fist, she struggled to fight back the waterworks. She was a Lucian, and Lucians were strong. No one got through their shields. But Isabel Kabra didn't know how much she was damaging her daughter. Natalie knew that one day, she would have enough. One day, she would be brave enough to leave her mother. But she was too cowardly, too attached to her mother, the Lucians, the Kabra family, and of course, the designer clothing that Isabel's money bought her.

Hamilton did not notice Natalie's inner turmoil. He turned to Ian and said, "Keep reading."

Ian sighed. "As Amy said," his eyes turning to her, "There is a break in the page. Should we stop?"

Amy looked down, reddening. He still had the same effect on her, even after everything that happened.

"How much longer?" It was Dan that asked this. He needed to know what happened next.

"About a page and a half. Then there is another break. But there are about three and a half pages until the end of the chapter."

"H-how a-about t-this," Amy interrupted quietly. "We f-finish t-the c-chapter and t-then w-we t-take a-a b-break."

Ian smiled charmingly. "Of course."

Dan twitched. "Don't talk to my sister," he hissed to Ian quietly, his eyes shining with protectiveness.

Ian just shrugged. "Who wants to read?"

"Yo, dude, I wanna read," called Jonah, holding his hand out for the book.

Ian raised his eyebrows. "Can you read without adorning your sentences with "yo" or do you even know how to read?"

"Of course I know how to read, yo," Jonah snapped. "What do you think I am, yo, dumb?"

"For Grace's sake," Dan muttered. "Just get it on with!"

"Fine, cuz," Jonah grinned and began reading.

**The beeping of the phone woke Dan up from a deep sleep. **

**The first thing he noticed was Amy's hand, bone-white and clenching the armrest. "I don't know how you can sleep at a time like this…" she said through gritted teeth.**

**The little jet banked to the left, causing Amy to let out a scream. "Sweet!" Dan said. "Do that again, Serge!"**

**Serge laughed. "You like?"**

"**No!" Amy blurted.**

"That's why you're not as cool as me," Dan told Amy.

Amy rolled her eyes. "I'm glad I'm not a dweeb like you," she shot back.

"Yo, stop talking over there," Jonah snapped. "I'm reading here, yo."

**Alistair was straining to hear the phone. "This is **_**who?" **_**he said, gesturing for everyone to be quiet. "Irina?"**

**Amy groaned. **

"**Yes, they did get away," Alistair said loudly. "They are with me, quite safe and sound…what? Did you say **_**Japan?" **_**Alistair let out a big laugh. "Oh dear. You thought…you really believed that Dan and Amy didn't **_**let **_**the Kabra children take their tickets, that they didn't purposefully direct their babysitter to board their plane as a decoy…oh my. Oh, that is rich…no, no, no, Irina…What? You're breaking up. Perhaps you heard me wrong. Yes, OF COURSE THE CAHILLS ARE HEADED TO JAPAN. THAT IS EXACTLY RIGHT. Good-bye, dear."**

"That was supposed to be convincing?" Ian said, disbelieving.

Alistair scratched his head. "Yes."

Ian shook his head, still shocked.

"**Um…what was that all about?" Dan said.**

**Alistair smiled. "I know Irina quite well. At this moment she is convinced that you tricked the Kabras, not the other way around. And trust me, after what I just said, the last place in the world she suspects you to be going is Japan…."**

"**Wait. You think you convinced her?" Dan said. "Uh, no offense, but that sounded pretty lame to me."**

"You have no faith in me," Alistair said quietly to Dan.

Dan hesitated and then shook his head. "No, not really."

"**I may be a failure in some things in my life, but I am a very quick study of people," Alistair replied. "I know exactly what works with Irina Spasky."**

**Amy turned her head toward Alistair, the color nearly drained from her face. He was a smart guy in many ways but a little old-fashioned. And he had overlooked something incredibly obvious.**

"**Don't…be too sure…" she said.**

Alistair frowned. "What did I miss?"

"Tracking devices," Amy said quietly, her stutter gone in her confidence that she was right. "She can plant a GPS on your phone from the call."

Alistair's jaw dropped. "Oh," he muttered. "Right."

"Yo, there's another break," Jonah shouted. "Bout two more pages till the end."

Dan sighed heavily. "Then keep reading!"

Jonah put up his hands. "No anger, little cuz," he told Dan. "Ain't cool."

**The pilot's voice, in Russian, called for clearance and quickly got it. **

**Banking to the right, the jet swooped low toward a small airport on the outskirts of Moscow. In the dry, parched landscape, the landing strip was a ghostly gray.**

**The lone passenger's fingers gripped the armrest as the wheels of the plane bumped against the ground. These landings were always rougher than she expected.**

**As the jet slowed, taxiing on the tarmac, she eyed the sleek silver Cessna being refueled. An impressive piece of machinery.**

"**Stop here," Irina said. **

**She could see the old man now, limping with his walking stick. He was dressed crisply and correctly, as always. The bowler and sunglasses gave that subtle touch of refinement. Irina liked a traditional man, not a slave to fashion.**

"Ooh…" Dan waggled his eyebrows. "Irina had a little crush on Ali!"

Amy looked nauseous. "Don't ever say that again," she whispered to her brother. "It just doesn't work."

Alistair looked green. "I'm sure that she never did."

Dan, Amy, and Alistair were silent, their mind suddenly flashing back to Indonesia and the fire. How Irina had saved them, and paid with her death. Amy was reliving the memory, her green eyes glazed in the past.

Jonah didn't notice, and he continued.

**His clothes seemed a little tight today, but during these stressful times, who hadn't put on weight?**

Isabel looked repulsed. "I haven't," she said clearly. But then again, Isabel Kabra had been plumped, pricked, and pulled to absolute perfection by the best plastic surgeons in London.

**A moment later, the little devils appeared, bundled down in coats and hats. Protected as always – first by Grace Cahill, now by the uncle. Why he had sold his soul to those two, she could never figure out. Someday he would learn.**

_**They will betray you Alistair, **_**she thought, **_**unless you betray them first.**_

**She smiled. Thoughts of human weakness always picked up her spirits after a long trip. Back in her KBG days, betrayal came in so many colorful varieties – blackmail, white lies, red tape, yellow journalism.**

Dan was looking a little green at Irina's thoughts. He had to admit though, betrayal in the way Irina described it was colorful.

_**Teams – paahh! **_**She thought. Teams were of no use in discovering the 39 Clues. With a secret of this much power, jealousies were inevitable and no alliances would survive.**

"Too true," Nellie muttered.

**Irina would find the Clues by herself. Without lazy rich kids, over-the-hill taco tycoons, or dewy-eyed orphans. To them, the amateurs, this was a mysterious game. Not to Irina.**

Amy was silent. Irina never found the Clues. It had been too late. Isabel Kabra had taken away Irina's goal.

The rest of the room was eerily silent, each of them thinking about Irina, everyone having different thoughts.

**The spoils, she knew, deserved to go to the one who had lost the most. To the lone wolf seeking justice. And vengeance.**

"Against what?" Amy mused to herself. "What had happened to her?"

**Across the runway, the trio climbed into the jet. Irina leaned forward, glancing at her cell phone, which still showed the GPS coordinates and recipient of her last call: OH, ALISTAIR.**

"'**Oh, Alistair,' indeed," she said underneath her breath. "You are making chase too easy for me…"**

"_**Shto?" **_**said her pilot.**

"What does that mean?" Dan blurted out.

The Kabras could only shrug: "Russian is not one of the languages I have chosen to learn."

Nellie: "Sorry kid, not one of my languages."

Hamilton: "Huh?"

Jonah: "No idea, cuz."

Alistair: "Dear child, I do not understand Russian."

Dan sighed and rolled his eyes. "No one knows?"

Amy cleared her throat. Everyone's eyes turned to her.

"It means "what," she said.

Dan gaped at her. "Since when do you know Russian?"

Amy shrugged. "I don't know Russian," she said wearily. "I just know what that word means."

"**Follow them, Alexander."**

**He pulled the gearshift and the plane's engine hummed to life. Ahead of them, the Cessna was beginning to position for takeoff.**

**Now she would see if he was telling the truth about their ultimate destination. **

**She grinned. No one ever put anything over on Irina Spasky.**

"Done," Jonah closed the book with a flourish.

"Finally," Dan moaned. "I'm hungry! And tired! I want to sleep!" His list of complaints was similar to most of the people in the room.

"Letter! KLK!" Dan moaned again. "Get me a bed, some food, some video games…"

Almost on cue, there was a golden flash of blinding light. "Yes!" Dan screamed as he grabbed the paper.

_Hello everyone,_

_I'll get straight to the point since I am currently pressed for time. _

Dan's voice was shaking with excitement as he dreamily thought of the games KLK would get him.

Natalie was thinking about shopping and all the luxuries KLK had _better _give her.

_First, to address Natalie's ripped dress, just to get it over with. As I have stated before, you cannot go shopping._

A scream from Natalie.

_I will however, provide each of you with a new outfit every two days. Natalie, deal with it. I will make sure that each of you get the type of clothing you prefer._

"What?" Natalie's voice was deadly quiet. "A new outfit every _two _days? I can't wear the same outfit twice! Never!"

Dan ignored her, wanting to get to the video game part.

_Next, Dan's video game and ninja addiction. I will be able to add three separate rooms adjourning this current one. One room will be the gaming room, which will be stocked with video games and also a section for "ninja training."_

"Yes!" Dan did a little dance. "Ninja Gaiden, here I come!"

_The other two rooms will be two of three bedrooms, the third being this current room. Unfortunately, I seem to have a shortage of beds. There are ten people in this room, and eleven if you count Saladin. Saladin I will have a bed for._

Saladin gave a pleased _mrrp._

The Kabras all seemed to be hyperventilating. "We need beds," Isabel muttered.

_I will have two beds in each bedroom. The third bedroom will have three. And _I _will be divvying up the beds, not the Kabras._

"How dare she," Isabel hissed. "I swear on my sharks that once we get out of here I will hunt down KLK and throw her to my pets!"

Dan gulped at the murderous expression on Isabel's face.

_The first bedroom will be given to Hamilton and Dan._

Both Hamilton and Dan gave each other high-fives at the prospect of sleeping in beds.

_Jonah, you will be sleeping on the floor of Hamilton and Dan's room._

A huge explosion.

Natalie knew that this meant she might have to be sleeping on the floor. "KLK, you better give me a bed," she snarled furiously, her pretty face twisted up in anger.

Dan grinned widely. Jonah, the star, had just been degraded to sleeping on the floor, which meant that Dan and Hamilton were considered more important than Jonah.

"Yo, whatz your prob, KLK?" Jonah shrieked. "My name is Jonah, and I deserve the best, man! I ain't sleeping on the floor!"

_Quite _sorry _Jonah, but you will have to sleep on the floor. The floor does have carpeting, so you won't be uncomfortable._

Jonah still looked murderous, and he began muttering things about how his mother was going to kill KLK.

Everyone else held their breath for the next sleeping arrangements.

_The second bedroom._

Dan paused for effect. Amy whacked him on the head. "Get on with it, dweeb."

_The second bedroom will be given to Vikram, Ian, and Alistair. _

Ian grinned at his fuming sister. His smile faded slightly when he heard that he would be with his father.

Dan scanned the next sentence and burst out laughing.

_Ian, you will be sleeping on the floor. _

"What?" Ian screamed. "I am a Kabra!"

Natalie smiled victoriously at her brother.

Vikram's eyes flashed. "Alistair will be sleeping on the floor."

_Vikram, Ian will be sleeping on the floor. Alistair needs the bed. And this is FINAL._

The result was disastrous. Dan flinched from the noisy arguments and continued reading in the hopes of recovery.

_Seeing as this will most likely result in a death, I will change the arrangements._

Vikram looked slightly pleased, thinking that KLK would have turned the odds in the Kabra's favor.

_Dan, would you like to sleep in the game room?_

Dan exploded. A huge crazy grin was on his face, and Amy knew that he would take up on the offer.

Hamilton scowled. "Can't I sleep in the game room too?"

Dan gave a huge nod to the letter.

_However, you will have to sleep on the floor._

Dan and Hamilton did not look fazed in the least.

_Hamilton, you are welcome to join Dan. Just remember – you will have to sleep on the floor, _without carpeting. _You must bring your own blankets._

Dan and Hamilton grinned at each other. Sleeping on hard floors was nothing.

_Ian, you will replace Dan. Jonah, you will still sleep on the floor. Meanwhile, Alistair will replace Hamilton._

Ian and Alistair looked relieved that they would be sleeping in beds. Jonah was not as happy.

_Now onto the second bedroom. Vikram and Isabel. That's it. This is FINAL._

Dan was not as happy. Vikram and Isabel looked remotely pleased. They would NOT be sharing beds. Not this time.

_The last bedroom._

Natalie looked ready to strangle someone if she didn't receive a bed.

_Calm down Natalie. You will be having a bed. I don't exactly want you killing me._

Natalie smiled triumphantly, whereas Ian looked slightly disappointed.

_Nellie and Amy, could you two share? The bed is big enough._

Nellie and Amy looked at each other. Both of them simultaneously nodded.

_Sleeping arrangements settled. Food, you already know how to get it. Blankets, they should be in the rooms. Saladin, you will sleep with Dan and Hamilton since I don't want Natalie murdering you. Dan and Hamilton, do not crush Saladin and do not stay up late playing video games. Otherwise I shall remove them. Understood?_

Dan and Hamilton nodded frantically to the letter.

_Alright. Good bye then. Natalie, Ian, Isabel, and Vikram: Please restrain yourselves. _

With a yelp Dan let go of the letter, which had suddenly burst into flame.

"That's it," Dan said. "I love KLK."

Hamilton glared at Dan. "KLK is mine."

Amy rolled her eyes as they began to bicker about who KLK would fall in love with.

The arguing pair was left aside as everyone else dispersed to their rooms. It would be a long night, Amy was sure.


	6. Nighttime Dilemmas

**A/N: Okay, this chapter is supposed to be betaed. But the whole connection thingy was confusing (at least to me), so I couldn't get it betaed. I decided to post this chapter up unbetaed because it's been nearly two weeks and I feel like a hypocrite for yelling at people to update when I don't update myself. So bear with the spelling and grammar mistakes, please?**

**Now away with the excuses. Special thanks to RoyalDanielle, who is the beta for this fanfiction. Special thanks to screamattheskyx3 for wonderful ideas that I used in this chapter! And the special reviewer for this chapter is randomzchicka! I'd also like to thank all of my reviewers so far, I never expected to get these many reviews. Your feedback really gets me going, even if these updates are spread apart. **

**Also, my school has piled all of the final exams in June, so until July hits the updates are going to be very few. And then in July and August, I will only be able to update on the weekends or on Friday. It's summer classes' fault!**

**I'm beginning to blather, so I'll stop now. But before you get to the chapter, here's the disclaimer that I always forget.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own 39 Clues in any shape or form or whatever. I don't own it period. But it would be awesome if I did. Cause then Ian would be ALL MINE...MUAHAHAHA...**

**Anyways, here's the chapter!**

**...**

Slowly, everyone drifted off to their assigned rooms. Amy and Nellie headed toward their bed, both hoping for a good rest before the next day. Amy climbed into bed, hardly believing that she would be able to get a night's sleep without being interrupted. But of course, Cahills are disaster prone.

Amy Cahill was not surprised to hear a high pitched shriek. To be more specific, Natalie's shriek. Amy mentally sighed and prepared herself for the tiresome tirade.

"Mama! Come quickly!" Natalie's voice was desperate, and to any other stranger who was not acquainted with her reputation, she looked like an innocent damsel in distress. Amy knew better.

Isabel Kabra appeared, striding towards her daughter with an impatient air. "What is it?" she snapped, stopping in front of Natalie.

"Mama, KLK did not tell us where to find the restroom!" Natalie looked at her mother imploringly. "My delicate body surely cannot withstand the horrible marks that my creams and lotions ward off!"

Amy coughed, poorly disguising a laugh. The female Kabras did not notice this, as Isabel had just come to the same conclusion Natalie came to.

Vikram opened the door to his room and stepped out, heading toward his wife and daughter. "Is something the matter?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Another door slammed open, and in stormed Ian. Met by questioning stares, he merely stated, "There aren't any pajamas."

As if motivated by Ian's remark, Natalie dashed to their assigned bed and felt the sheets. Immediately drawing her hand back in disgust, she wrinkled her nose and looked up. "These sheets are polyester! I only sleep on Egyptian cotton!"

Amy and Nellie exchanged exasperated looks and rolled out of bed, sensing an argument would be inevitable. Meanwhile, doors were getting slammed open again, as Dan, Hamilton, Jonah, Alistair, and Saladin all stalked in the main room, looking quite annoyed.

"Yo, what's going on in here?" Jonah demanded. All eyes turned to the Kabras, who were ironically standing in the middle, surrounded by their fellow Cahill family members.

It was Natalie who explained. "The sheets are polyester, there's no bathroom, no pajamas, the temperature is uncomfortably warm, my Prada sneakers have a scuff on them, I don't have my eye mask, and I don't have my nighttime creams and lotions!"

"O-oooo-kay…." Dan mumbled, trying to take it all in. When he finally grasped the situation, he glared at Natalie. "This is what you called me from Call of Duty for? Half of your complaints are fake! There's a bathroom in the game room, which is mine, your clothes can be pajamas, the temperature is _fine, _and who cares about your lotion and eye mask and whatever else you said?"

"There is a bathroom in the game room, Daniel?" Natalie purred. Like a bullet, she invaded Dan and Hamilton's territory in her search for beautification products. Isabel followed her daughter, remembering the fact that there was no plastic surgeon here and that wrinkles were extremely detrimental to her health.

"Finally," Dan muttered, glancing anxiously towards the game room. "But they better not mess up the games…"

His hopes quickly vanished as there were twin screams of horror. Isabel and Natalie burst out of the bathroom, the latter tripping over a stray wire.

"Hey!" Dan yelped and hurried into his precious room to readjust the wire, which happened to be the wire that connected to his Call of Duty game.

Natalie was bright red with indignation and Amy thought that she looked very much like a tomato. Wisely, she did not point this out, as Natalie was hysterical enough as it was.

Dan, finished adjusting the wire, poked his head out. "What's the problem now, Cobra?"

"The restroom…" Natalie gasped for breath. "Is horribly peasant-like!"

Amy raised her eyebrows and Nellie piped up, "Peasant-like isn't a word!"

Natalie ignored the au pair. "The restroom is not furnished with gold tiling and trims, it is hardly big enough, the soaps are not well crafted, and there are no lotions or creams at all!"

"What did you expect?" Dan retorted, wanting to get back to his game. "KLK isn't some kind of servant, she's a ninja who doesn't have time for cobras, and stop whining!"

Natalie did not seem to hear Dan's remarks. "What am I going to do?" she moaned.

Amy was tired. Hell, she was exhausted. She needed sleep. Lots of it. And Natalie Kabra would _not _be the one who took her sleep away from her. Attempting to be the voice of reason, she spoke up quietly. "C-can't you g-go one d-day without t-those t-t-things?"

"No, we cannot," Isabel replied through clenched teeth. Vikram and Ian looked slightly amused, but both of them still wanted the luxuries that their mansion brought.

Hamilton looked from person to person. "Anyone happen to bring the stuff they want?" Everyone shook their heads.

Natalie buried her face in her hands. "What am I supposed to do?" she repeated, "I need face creams!"

"KLK?" Alistair yawned. "Would you be so kind to send another letter?" No golden flash. Nothing to show that KLK had heard him.

"She said she was busy," Dan shrugged.

Amy cleared her throat. She wanted this done and over with, and since she was confident that her idea would work, her voice came out clear and strong, no stuttering audible. "Natalie, we don't have those things. You're going to have to get used to it. But if you want a face cream, why don't you ask for one of those aloe drinks? It's food, so it has to appear. Then you can mix the drink up with some soap and use it as a face wash."

Amy finished speaking, and Natalie still looked mutinous. Amy knew that she had given a clue away, the clue she and Dan discovered the South Africa: aloe. She could feel Dan's glare, but she wasn't backing off. Her idea would work…wouldn't it? It seemed logical that it would work. The aloe would provide the healing and soothing properties, and the soap would thicken it into a creamier substance and also clean.

Natalie and Isabel glared at Amy suspiciously. "How do we know this isn't some kind of trap, my dear Amy?" Isabel demanded.

"Because no one else cares about this and we all want to sleep," supplied Nellie. She too, looked exhausted from the day's work. Also, she needed privacy so that she could send in an update, provided that there was an internet connection available for the laptop she had brought along.

"Fine," Natalie hissed, angry that an orphan brat knew something she didn't. But then again, Natalie never envisioned herself in this sort of predicament.

Isabel and Natalie both summoned bottles of the aloe drink, and still eyeing Amy warily, strode to the restroom.

Ian and Vikram looked tempted to do the same, but they waited for the results of the female Kabras to come out so there would be no danger. After all, Ian and Vikram did not maintain their perfect complexions magically. They had to use facial creams too.

Silently, the rest of the room waited for the results. The tension in the air was so thick that Dan thought he could cut through it with his awesome ninja and wushu skills.

There was the sound of running water, and noises that spoke of things being displaced came from the door of the restroom. Amy held her breath, hoping that it would work. She didn't want to be the receiving end of Natalie's prized dart gun.

The door opened and Natalie and Isabel waltzed out. "It works," Natalie told Amy, albeit grudgingly.

Amy smiled a bit and sighed in relief. Perhaps she could finally sleep. But the Kabras weren't finished yet.

"What about the pajamas? And the sheets? And my Prada sneakers? And my eyemask? Not to mention my ripped silk designer dress?" Natalie was rattling off another list of complaints.

Jonah was nodding along furiously with her, accustomed to the best of the best due to his fame. "I'm da bomb, man. I only get the best."

Dan rolled his eyes. "You can't go shopping for new Prada sneakers, or the eyemask, or a new dress. Besides, you're going to get new clothes in two days. You can wear your clothes as pajamas, and unless you have a magic wand, the sheets are going to stay polyester! What's the difference between cotton and polyester anyway?" he snapped. Dan was suffering from separation anxiety from his video games.

Natalie stomped her foot on the ground, scuffing her Prada sneakers even more.

"Just sleep," Nellie suggested, inching back toward her bed. The au pair had dark circles under her eyes, and she stifled a yawn behind her hand. Nellie Gomez was in desperate need of sleep.

Natalie glared petulantly at everyone else, as if they were at fault for everything wrong in the world. "But –"

Isabel was tired. But she also wanted the things her daughter wanted. The passing of time made the exhaustion in her win. Not that she would ever let anyone know. Kabras were _the _best, and that meant that they couldn't show emotions or any weaknesses.

"Enough, Natalie," Isabel's voice was quiet but lethal. "Stop whining. Now go to bed."

Isabel's words seemed to trigger everyone else's movements. Natalie walked reluctantly to her bed, and the other Cahills drifted off to their own beds or floors. Dan and Hamilton virtually ran to the game room, tripping over one another as they did so. Amy and Nellie exchanged looks of relief and then climbed under the sheets.

Silence seemed to permeate the room as drowsiness swept in and claimed the occupants. Dan and Hamilton were still gaming, but even their cries of elation or frustration became distorted and faint, as if they were speaking underwater. But soon even Dan and Hamilton grew tired of playing Call of Duty or whatever other game, so they crawled toward their makeshift beds. Hamilton promptly fell asleep, but Dan was still mentally awake from the video game. Saladin curled up on his cat bed and dozed off.

Everyone else succumbed to the stage of light sleep, expecting no further delays in their sleep. But Dan, being the immature eleven year old "ninja lord", decided that he was not yet ready for sleep.

Silently, stealthily, Dan rose from his bed and crept toward the main room, where Amy, Nellie, and Natalie were sleeping. With a huge grin on his face and eyes full of mischief, Dan tiptoed to Natalie's bed. Natalie was dozing, her face settled in lines of contentment, and Dan knew exactly what he was going to do.

"Hi you," Dan said cheerfully in her ear. "Prada got burned down."

One of Natalie's favorite stores was Prada, and naturally she was planning on going on a shopping spree there to replace her "scuffed" shoes and ripped dress. So when she heard this sentence in her subconscious mind, she immediately opened her eyes to the grinning Dan that was looming over her face.

So Natalie did what anyone in her situation would do. For perhaps the hundredth time that day, she screamed. Loud. She screamed so loud that Dan thought that people in China could probably hear her.

Cahills are trained to act at a moment's notice. So of course when Natalie screamed, all other Cahills woke up, stumbled out of bed, and rushed to Natalie's aid.

Dan bounded away silently, widening his eyes and making it seem like he had just come from the game room.

"What the hell is going on here?" Nellie shouted. "Some of us are actually trying to sleep!"

Natalie leapt off her bed, giving a small cry as her foot caught in the sheets. She ended up in a tangle of bedsheets and human, landing at the foot of her mother who had just stormed out.

"Natalie," Vikram's voice came up behind her. "Care to explain?"

"He –" Natalie pointed an accusatory finger at Dan. "That filthy little stupid orphan –"

"Watch who you're calling filthy and stupid," Nellie said sharply.

"He snuck up on me and said that Prada was burned down to the ground!" Natalie hissed furiously.

Dan raised his hands innocently. "I didn't do anything!" his wide eyes were imploring, and Amy could feel herself leaning toward Dan's "innocent" side.

"Is this true?" Vikram's voice was deadly, the very antithesis of Ian, who was trying to hide his chuckles.

"Um," Dan stared at the floor. "I might have snuck up on her, and then I might have said a few things about Prada."

Amy reached over and whacked her younger brother on the head. "Stop your shenanigans," she growled. "I'm tired."

Dan widened his eyes. "Shenanigans? I did no such thing!"

Isabel was annoyed. Beyond hell. So was Alistair. His back was hurting and he wanted to sleep. Jonah was tired. This was not good for his showbiz health. Hamilton was annoyed. He needed his sleep.

Because of all these factors, Isabel lost her patience.

"Natalie," Isabel unleashed the full wrath of her glare, "Kindly do not disturb anyone else here. First you are useless in finding the clues, and now you are unnecessarily disturbing me! What kind of daughter are you?"

Natalie froze, her mouth dropping open in shock. "B-but –"

"I don't want to hear it," Isabel snarled, whipping around and heading back to her room.

No one moved. Everyone's eyes were fixed on Natalie's shaking form, each having different thoughts.

Dan: Uh oh…

Amy: Is Natalie…crying? No, that can't be it.

Nellie: Harsh.

Saladin: _mrrp_

Ian: Cruel. Wait, is Natalie…are those tears? Impossible!

Vikram: Such a weak child. Those cannot be tears running down…

Hamilton: Whoa. What's going on? Why is she crying?

Alistair: Poor child. Isabel has horrible parenting skills.

Jonah: Yo, man! Natalie got owned!

Isabel: Foolish child. Useless in every way. It's good to know that Ian is the heir.

Natalie was shaking, her mind reeling by her mother's words. It had been a horrible day for her. She had lost the lead on Amy and Dan in the morning, her dress was ripped, her Prada shoes were scuffed, she had none of the usual luxuries here, she had been insulted repeatedly by her mother and Dan, and Dan had scared her half to death. But it was her mother's voice that triggered it.

Natalie felt as if the world was out to get her today. So much had gone wrong. It was as if bullets were heading her way, and she knew that her cold exterior couldn't deflect all of the bullets. _Useless… _That had been the bullet that had shattered the metal she surrounded herself with.

There seemed to be something strange rising up in her, and it was rising fast. Her throat closed up, and it was harder to swallow. She felt tears well up in her eyes, and as her mind replayed the scene, she felt them roll down. Huge, big, salty tears, making their way down her cheeks. Natalie touched a teardrop gently, almost shocked. She had not cried for such a long time. She had not cried for years.

Now that a few tears had made their way out, it was easier to cry. Torrents of tears seemed to streak down, and Natalie realized that she was going against everything her mother taught her.

_Never show weakness. _

She was showing weakness.

_Tears are useless. They are for the weak. _

Then she was weak now.

She couldn't stop the tears, couldn't stop the loud sob that broke through the silence. Couldn't stop the feeling that she was unloved, that she was alone. Love was weakness, and she knew that her parents and Ian could betray her in a second is need be. At least Amy had Dan, and Dan had Ian. Hamilton had his family, Jonah had his parents, Nellie had family, and even Alistair had family. Everyone else had people who loved them. Except for her. It was quite depressing to think about.

Dan stared in shock at Natalie. It seemed unreal, that a Kabra would cry, and in the presence of other ruthless Cahill members. But here she was, sobbing in a vulnerable heap on the ground. He wanted to reach out to her, to hold her and tell her that it was alright. But he couldn't do that. He couldn't ever.

Alistair stared at the girl, sympathy seeping through him. He knew how it felt, the feeling that you were alone in a huge world. He had felt the same way when he found out his father had died. It was as if you were broken, hollow, a shell.

The other Kabras were silent, almost in awe and disgust that Natalie dared to cry. Ian was stunned, the sister that had always been more ruthless than him was _crying. _Isabel stopped her trek to her room and turned around, eyes blazing with fury and disgust.

No one moved, not even the insensitive Jonah. Everyone was scared to move, scared to break this fragile moment. Except for one person.

"You miserable child," Isabel stepped forward and slapped Natalie across the face. There was a loud _crack _as Natalie's face turned sharply to the right. A bruise was already forming, a dark imprint of five fingers shown clearly on her cheek.

But this only served to quicken the flow of Natalie tears, and when she looked up at her mother, her eyes were accusing. Natalie didn't move, just stared at her mother with the odd feeling of betrayal.

"How dare you," Amy's quiet voice rang out in the silence as her hatred for Isabel Kabra doubled. "Can't you see that she's already crying?"

Ian watched Amy curiously. The girl who stood up to his mother when no one else would. The girl who stood up for Natalie, one of her archrivals.

"How dare I?" Isabel threw her head back and laughed. "How dare _you _tell me what to do!"

Normally Dan would have laughed and pointed out that Isabel's last sentence rhymed, but he knew that this was not the time.

"Ok, um…" Nellie stepped out. "You okay, kiddo?" her voice was gentle, directed towards Natalie.

"Look, how about we all go back to bed?" Nellie suggested, trying to quell the tension. She was met with small nods as everyone drifted off again, sneaking quick looks at the still crying girl.

Amy did not head back toward her bed, but knelt at Natalie's side. "Are you alright?" she asked quietly, putting a tentative hand on Natalie's shoulder.

Natalie glared half-heartedly at Amy. "I don't need your help, orphan," but her words held none of the real malice she usually used.

Amy met the anguished amber eyes of Natalie. "It's alright, you know," she whispered. "It's alright to cry once in a while. No matter what your parents say."

Sniffling, Natalie allowed Amy to help her up into a sitting position on her bed. "I didn't know Mama would ever –"

"Shh," Amy quieted the girl. "Just sleep. Everything will get sorted out later."

Natalie gave a small nod and slumped onto the bed. "This doesn't change anything, Cahill."

Amy gave a small sad smile. "Really? I think this changes things." Tucking Natalie in as if she were her mother, Amy stepped back and headed towards her own bed.

Hidden in the shadows of a corner, Ian Kabra watched this all happen. Dan was at his side, also watching.

"Wow," Dan murmured quietly. Ian glanced at the boy, a small smile playing at his lips. "Wow, indeed."

Ian turned and strode back to his room, his mind filled with thoughts about Amy. Feelings he had buried after the cave in Korea resurfaced, and he found that Amy intrigued him more than ever.

Dan returned to his bed, his mind spinning with the recent events. But soon his mind slowly shut down, and he closed his eyes, yielding to sleep.

Amy curled up on her bed, her mind reeling from what had just happened. Nellie was already snoring, but she couldn't sleep. Her body was exhausted, but her mind was still awake and alert. She turned on her side, closing her eyes and trying to sleep. Amy felt restless, and the twisting and turning did not help. Giving a small sigh, she rolled out of bed.

Making no noise, Amy crept out of the vicinity of the beds. She wished she could see the night sky instead of the walls that suddenly felt like a prison. Catching sight of the three books that the mysterious KLK had left, she noiselessly stepped toward it. Examining each book, she noted that the second book was orange and black and was titled "The Black Circle," and the third book was titled "The Viper's Nest."

The bookworm that Amy is, she couldn't help but skim through the future chapters of each book. Picking up the book they were currently reading, she began to look over the chapters. Right when the part in Korea came up, Amy shut the book. Then she realized what she had just seen, and opened it again quickly.

The part had been in Ian's perspective, and her heart nearly stopped as she read the sentences after she had opened the cave.

**Ian pulled Amy away and threw her to the ground, landing on top of her. Gravel showered over his back, embedding into his hair and landing on the ground like a burst of applause. **

**His second thought was that the shirt would be ruined. And this was the shock of it – that his first thought had not been about his shirt. Or the coin. Or himself.**

**It had been about **_**her. **_

**But that was not part of the plan. She existed for a purpose. She was a tactic, a stepping stone. She was…**

"**Lovely," he said.**

Amy was shocked. Actually, that would be an understatement. To say that Amy was shocked was like saying a computer could stand up and walk and talk like a human. Imagine shock being multiplied about 100 times. That's how Amy felt.

Amy couldn't believe what she was seeing, but there it was, on the page. Her mind seemed to be in a daze, still processing what those words would have meant. Her hand was about to turn the page when she heard footsteps from behind a door. Amy froze, her breaths coming in pants of fear of getting caught now. Deftly, she closed the book and slipped it back on the table to its original position.

Tiptoeing back to her bed, she climbed under the covers and curled up in a ball, closing her eyes and trying to regulate her breathing. Amy opened her eyes slightly, and realized that the figure who had awoken was Ian. Her breath caught as she watched him summon a bottle of aloe vera drink. He stepped into the bathroom and she heard the soft sounds of rushing water. Amy smiled slightly, and she covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. Ian was replicating the facial wash that Amy had suggested to Natalie. It turns out that the Cobras were very vain indeed.

Amy could not help but let out a small chuckle that was lost under the sounds of the faucet. She grinned as she stored this into her memory permanently. It would make for excellent blackmail.

Amy watched as Ian crept back to his room, and closed her eyes again to pretend sleep. Once she heard the door close she opened them again, her piercing jade eyes much like a cat's in the darkness. The darkness was no longer pressing, but instead more light-hearted and warm. Slowly Amy relaxed and succumbed to sleep, her dreams filled with Ian Kabra.


	7. Chapter Five Part One

**A/N: Here it is, an update after about a month. I say update, not chapter, because, well, this is half of Chapter Five. The entire chapter was very long in the book, so I decided to split it up. Then I accidentally clicked the PRINT button on Microsoft Word. Which caused the 16 page half-chapter to go tumbling out of the printer. Then my lovely computer decides to crash. Needless to say, I was mad. But I still had the printed copy, which I forced myself to retype, which was annoying because the computer-fixer person I used made my computer very slow. Thus, the long gap between the updates. **

**The next half-chapter will be posted as soon as I can reborrow the book from the library. **

**And for the first time, this update is BETAED! I feel so happy. This half-chapter is super improved by RoyalDanielle, my awesome beta. Hopefully this will make up slightly for the lack of updating.**

**List of People to Thank:**

**RoyalDanielle - The Beta**

**Randomzchicka - For persistently pushing me to update :)**

**Dove's Wing - The Random Reviewer**

**So without further ado...**

**...**

Dan woke up first, stretching and then leaping out of his nest of blankets in the game room. He and Hamilton had stayed up late playing video games. Sad to say, Hamilton had beaten him. His smile vanished as he remembered this, but then resurfaced when he realized no one was awake yet.

"Mwahahaha," Dan cackled as he snuck into the bathroom. He clapped his hands softly, and a glass of orange juice appeared. Dan gulped it down and then filled it with tap water. He was going to take on the duty of waking everyone up. But first he needed to think of a victim…ahem…the first person he wanted to wake up.

Tiptoeing softly into the main room, he grinned evilly as he saw Amy sleeping, her reddish-brown hair strewn all around the pillows. He felt like a ninja-lord right now, embarking on a mission.

He crept next to Amy and dumped the water on her head. "Wakey wakey, Amy, so you can watch Ian go bakey!"

It had the desired effect. Amy shot up with a scream, which only caused the blankets to tangle. She ended up in a heap at Dan's feet, which only made Dan cackle even more. Furious, she ripped away the blankets and started whacking her brother.

"You –" _whack._"Stupid –" _whack._"Complete –" _whack. _"Idiot!" Amy screeched.

Her screams pierced the walls of the other bedrooms. Every single one of them rushed to the main room, where they saw a sodden Amy whacking Dan mercilessly. Needless to say, it was amusing. _Very_ amusing, because Amy was seen as a quiet, stuttering girl by most of the occupants.

"Whoa, man," Jonah said. His eyes widened.

Hamilton gave Amy a thumbs-up. "Go, Amy!" he hooted.

Dan brought up his arms to shield his face from Amy's wrath. "Watch it Ames!" he hollered. "My face needs to stay perfect!"

"For who?" Amy growled, furious. "For Natalie?"

Dan's eyes widened almost comically and he shook his head so hard he swore he could feel his brain moving. "Never!"

His cry was mimicked by a horrified Natalie.

"You know," Vikram Kabra's voice cut through the medley. "This is all very amusing, but I imagine some of us would like to continue reading."

Amy stopped hitting her brother and retreated, glaring at him angrily. Dan rubbed his head, wincing as he felt a bump beginning to form. But he wasn't in enough pain to thank a Cobra. Not yet.

"Finally," Natalie muttered, still a bit traumatized by Amy's insinuation. Nellie rolled her eyes.

"I would have thought you would have been flattered when Amy said that about you," she told the younger girl. Natalie looked sick.

Just then, there was a flash of bright light. New outfits suddenly appeared on each bed, with the exception of those who slept on the floor.

Natalie rushed forward to examine the dress on her bed. "Prada!" she exclaimed. "And limited edition too!"

…which caused the rest of the Kabras to check their clothing. And sure enough, they got their designer brand of choice.

Amy and Nellie rolled their eyes in unison.

When everyone had finished dressing, everyone ordered breakfast. The meals varied from simple to extravagant. The richer Cahills ordered foods Amy and Dan had never really heard of, while the less well-off Cahills ordered _normal_food, such as pancakes and bacon.

When everyone had finished eating, they settled into the sofas surrounding the coffee table. Vikram picked up the book, and it went without saying that he would read the next chapter. Besides, Dan was feeling comfortably full from his extremely large breakfast and wasn't in the mood to argue.

**Chapter Five.**

Vikram paused, scanning the rest of the page. Satisfied that there wasn't any incriminating evidence, he continued reading.

**Amy's brother was never comfortable in a new place until he committed an act of cluelessness. In Tokyo, it happened the morning after their arrival at the Thank You Very Much Hotel.**

"Hey!" Dan protested.

"Thank You Very Much Hotel?" Hamilton asked in bewilderment.

"The name of the hotel," Amy said quietly to Hamilton. The boy nodded, satisfied with her answer.

"**Dan, you can't just**_**take**_**that – it's stealing," Amy said, watching him struggle to fit a hotel ashtray in his back pocket.**

"That will never fit," Natalie remarked, stating the obvious.

"No duh," Dan rolled his eyes. "But I needed to collect it!"

"**They won't know it's missing!" Dan protested. "I need it for my collection."**

**Dan collected everything. If it fit in a house and wasn't chained to the floor, he had a collection for it.**

"So you collect cars?" Ian smirked. "Beauty products? They all fit in a house."

"No I don't!" Dan's face was reddening.

"What's next?" Isabel put in. "Sex machines?" She laughed vindictively.

Dan sputtered. Eleven year old ninja lords do not succumb to petty teasing, he told himself repeatedly.

"It's y-you w-who c-collects beauty p-products," Amy stuttered, glaring at the Kabras. _Time to use blackmail_, she thought. It was for a good cause; protecting a younger brother and bringing down the heir to the Lucian branch.

"Really?" Ian said skeptically, trying to make it seem like Amy was wrong. But his stomach was churning…she couldn't possibly have seen him applying the facial cream yesterday…could she…?

"Yes!" Amy retorted. "You used t-the s-same f-facial c-cream Natalie used y-yesterday!"

Everyone's jaws dropped.

Ian's face burned bright red. His parents and Natalie were eyeing him, and he gulped as he felt the furious gaze of his mother.

"No!" Ian exclaimed, a bit _too_ quickly. "Besides, you wouldn't have seen me. You were sleeping just like everyone else."

"So you admit it!" Dan cackled triumphantly. "You said that she wouldn't have seen you, which means that you did it!"

Ian started sweating. The rest of the Cahills' laughter only made it worse. When this KLK finally sent them back, he would sue. He would make sure that the Holts never got a satisfactory meal again, send Amy and Dan to the insane asylum, and bring Alistair to his knees…

"Ian, love," Isabel Kabra's voice stopped the laughter. "Is this true?"

One thing Ian had learned from his time with his mother…Never lie to Isabel Kabra. The results will not be pretty, even if you are her son.

"Yes," Ian whispered, his voice carrying through the silence. "But I had to maintain my complexion! My skin is delicate, Mummy, you know that!" he added desperately. Isabel had been plumped, pulled, and pricked with enough needles to understand the vain need to be beautiful. This, however, did not stop the amusement of everyone else. Even Natalie was snickering.

"Yo, dawg," Jonah called out. "Skin's delicate, yeah right. Are you a girl in disguise, man?"

This set off another round of laughter. Ian's dark skin reddened furiously as he plotted Jonah's death.

The lighthearted atmosphere sobered as Vikram picked up the book. Though he had only picked up the book, the decisive action made everyone calm down and listen.

"**Your sister is correct," Uncle Alistair said sternly, stopping to lean on his walking stick on the way to the front door. He smelled of aftershave and powder. On the trip in from the airport, he had bought Amy and Dan a few changes of clothes and insisted they freshen up and have a long sleep.**

**Amy had not slept for a nanosecond. For one thing, she was too nervous. For another, Dan kept muttering**_**"Mrrp"**_**in his sleep. He was really missing Saladin.**

Saladin purred appreciatively. Dan grinned and started to pet the Egyptian Mau. Everyone looked at Dan weirdly.

**But that hadn't curbed his obsession for collecting. Amy held out her palm. Reluctantly, Dan put the ashtray in it. "Okay, but can you get me a Thank You Very Much Hotel matchbook then?" he asked.**

Isabel sighed impatiently. "This book is useless," she hissed. "Full of the mundane lives of two stupid Cahills."

Amy and Dan ignored her. As they exchanged looks, they knew it wasn't useless. And besides, the matchbook was what had gotten them out of the cave in Korea.

**Amy returned the ashtray to a table in the lobby, with Dan skulking behind. They still couldn't pronounce the hotel's real name. Instead, they nicknamed it after the only phrase any of the staff ever said to them. Picking up a matchbook from the front desk, Amy smiled at the desk clerk. "Thank you very much!" the clerk said.**

"Uneducated vagabonds," Isabel muttered under her breath.

**As they walked back toward the door, Dan eyed Alistair, who was looking away from them. "Let's escape," Dan murmured. "We have to find our peeps. Nellie and Saladin."**

"Peeps?" Nellie said incredulously. "What am I, some kind of bird?"

Saladin meowed at Dan, giving him the reproving look only a cat could pull off.

"**Are you crazy?" Amy whispered back.**

"I believe he is," Natalie muttered.

"**Uncle Alistair paid for this hotel stay. He knows Japanese, and he's going to help us around town."**

"**You like him!" Dan said in horror. "He's turned your mind!"**

**Amy whirled on him. "I don't like him**_**or**_**trust him. But without him we're stuck, Dan. So we have to**_**pretend**_**, at least until Nellie finds us."**

Alistair frowned. Did the children ever trust him? But then again, he hadn't really given them any reason to do so.

"**Or we find her!" Dan grumbled as he and Amy headed toward Alistair at the front entrance. Together they stepped out into a crisp, sunny day. To their left, people in manga-hero costumes greeted shoppers in front of a gleaming high-rise shopping center. The scent of some strange blossom wafted from a park, which was across a busy street filled with car and bike traffic. Tokyo reminded Amy of New York City, without all the people yelling at each other.**

**Dan's eyes were cast upwards, gawking at a steel structure that rose above the park. "Cool, someone brought over the Eiffel Tower and painted it red and white!"**

"You can't move the Eiffel Tower, Daniel." Natalie rolled her eyes. "It stays in Paris."

Dan rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

**Alistair smiled. "The Tokyo Tower is taller than its Parisian counterpart, but also lighter, due to advances in steel construction – advances that were developed, may I add, by an Ekat engineer. My illustrious family. And you see that tall apartment tower with curved sides? It suggests a Japanese flower found in great abundance in Shiba park. The brainchild of a Janus architect –"**

"**Wait, that park has flowers made of steel?" Dan said.**

"**I know someone with a brain made of tin," Amy replied, then turned back to Alistair.**

"Three guesses to who that could be," Nellie mused, grinning wickedly at Dan.

"Who, Natalie?" Dan asked. He was really enjoying teasing the brunette.

Natalie growled under her breath.

"**How do you know so much about your family?"**

"**Someday I will show you my collection," Alistair said. "But let's get to the task at hand. It is a ten-minute cab ride to the Metropolitan Library."**

"**Library. Woo-hoo. Can't wait," Dan said, absently fingering his matchbook. "Hey, I know. You guys go. I'll pick up some snapper sushi and take a cab to the airport. I'll meet you later."**

"You do know that is exactly what we expected you to do?" Ian said to Dan, raising his eyebrows.

Dan rolled his eyes. "Of course I know. I'm the ninja lord."

Amy poked Dan in the ribs. "Stop it," she growled, still miffed from the morning fiasco.

Dan grinned. "That's right, defend your boyfriend, Mrs. Kabra. Oops, I mean _girlfriend_."

Amy choked. Ian choked. Both turned an interesting shade of red. Isabel ran through all the torture machines in the Lucian stronghold, plotting Dan's most painful death.

"Enough, kiddos," Nellie raised her hands, putting a stop to the situation before it got worse. That, however, would not stop Amy and Ian from getting their revenge on Dan.

"**What makes you think Saladin is at the airport?" Alistair asked, walking toward the street.**

"**I figure two things could have happened," Dan said. "One – the Kabras brainwashed Nellie and are leading her around town trying to find us. Or Two – Nellie managed to subdue them with superior ninja training she didn't realize she had picked up by mental telepathy from me. Actually, I'm betting on One. Either way, Saladin would…" Dan's face darkened. "I – I can't stop thinking of him, still on that conveyor belt, all alone, going round and round…"**

Nellie rolled her eyes at Dan's idiocy, but smiled. Saladin reassured Dan with a "_Mrrp_."

"**I know you love your pet," Alistair said. "But you must think of your own safety first. The Kabras will expect you to come to Japan. They may also expect you to go to the airport in search of your beloved feline and babysitter –"**

"Au pair," Amy, Dan, and Nellie chorused at the same time, all sounding annoyed.

"How many times do we have to say that?" Nellie demanded, glaring at Alistair.

"**Au pair," Dan corrected him.**

"**You simply cannot risk walking into a trap," Alistair continued.**

**It made Amy sick not to know where Nellie and Saladin were, too. She'd been trying to contact Nellie on her cell phone since they arrived. She hated telling Dan not to go after them. But Alistair's advice made sense. "Knowing Natalie and Ian," Amy said, following Alistair toward a taxi stand, "they'll find us."**

"**But –" Dan protested.**

"**We have to move forward, Amy said. "Nellie will land on her feet."**

**Dan sighed. "Saladin too, I guess. I mean, being a cat and all…"**

"Are you calling me a cat?" Nellie narrowed her eyes at her au pairees.

"No!" Amy shook her head.

Jonah and Hamilton coughed, hiding their laughter. When the two boys realized what just happened, they glared at each other balefully.

"Not funny," Nellie growled at the Janus and Tomas representatives. In an impressive display of manliness, both quailed.

Vikram watched this with an amused expression. "May we get back to the story?" he asked, pleased to see that his influence had not gone.

**As they threaded their way through the plaza, Dan kept lighting matches and blowing them out. "Will you stop it?" Amy said.**

"**Why?" Dan said, lighting another match. "It's fun. It keeps my mind off the fact that here we are ignoring the only two people we really like, plus we're in the land of ninjas and Mothra and really cool martial arts, and we're going to spend another day in a library."**

**As he approached a waiting taxicab, Alistair said something to the driver in rapid, fluent-sounding Japanese and signaled Amy and Dan to climb in.**

Isabel was soaking this all up, despite her earlier words. She needed to find out why these two orphan brats and their babysitter had managed to outsmart Ian and Natalie at almost every turn. The Lucians needed to win; they alone could govern the world correctly.

**They sped through the traffic, passing rows of modern steel buildings and an occasional ornate ancient pagoda surrounded with gardens. "Why can't we stay in one of these cottages?" Dan asked.**

"**They are ancient temples," Alistair replied. "You will see more of them as we approach our destination. The military dictator – the shogun – ordered all temples moved here. At the time, the Roppongi area was a remote outpost of the capital, which was then called Edo. Part of the area was a hunting ground for the shogunate."**

"What's a shogunate?" Hamilton said blankly.

Everyone turned to Amy, who was already telling Hamilton the answer. She was like a professional lecturer, her voice clear and strong from the confidence that she was right.

_If only she did this when we talked to other people,_Dan thought glumly. When confronted with officials, Amy usually stuttered.

"A shogunate is the government, rule, or office by a shogun or a military dictator, hence its name."

"When we're done with the history lesson," Natalie drawled. "Perhaps we could get back to the book?"

"**Fascinating," Amy said. She loved learning about the origins of cities.**

**Dan nodded, staring dully out the window. "I think I just saw a celebrity."**

**Alistair's cell phone rang. "Hello…? Yes…ah, bravo, Serge. She**_**what?**_**Well, imagine that – ha! Very good. And thank you so much.**_**Da. Do svidanya!"**_

"Eh?" Hamilton blinked. "What does that mean? The weird words?"

Jonah gave him a condescending look. "Man, it's called Russian. And don't ya know anything?"

Hamilton glared at the boy. "Then what does it mean?"

Jonah floundered. "Um…ya see, man, my head's stuffed up with so much smart stuff I need time to search it up. And we ain't got that time."

Ian rolled his eyes. "You don't know."

"Da means yes," Amy supplied quietly. She felt herself reddening as everyone's attention shifted again.

Alistair, noting the girl's discomfort, smiled widely. "Yes, very good Amy! And _Do svidanya_is, I suppose you could say, the Russian phrase for 'goodbye.'"

Amy looked at the old man, thankful. She didn't particularly like or trust him anymore, but sometimes he could be a savior.

"Oh," Hamilton nodded, and you could almost see the gears in his brain turning so that he could memorize the information.

"Yep, that's right, man," Jonah flashed a blinding white smile.

Saladin gave him a skeptical look, contorting his face the way only a cat can.

"Can we get back to the story already?" Dan interrupted.

His suggestion was met by several nods, and so Vikram began reading again.

**He put the phone away and turned to Dan and Amy. "Serge is safely in Siberia with his two children. Irina completely fell for the disguise. She thought they were we. When she realized she'd been had, she began cursing with words that embarrassed even Serge."**

Vikram's tone had turned from bored to disapproving as he thought about what his former top agent had become. A traitor to the cause—and what was worse: a _gullible_traitor! To think that Irina had once been so great…He sighed inwardly and dismissed all thoughts of her from his brain. _Water under the bridge_, he told himself firmly.

"**Yes!" Dan whooped, slapping high fives to his sister and uncle.**

"**I have you to thank, Amy," Alistair said, beaming. "How stupid of me not to realize Irina could have tracked us with the cell phone GPS."**

"**I thought of it, like, right away," Dan said modestly. "I'm just more shy."**

"I highly doubt that, Daniel," Ian smirked. "Amy is far more likely to think of that than you."

Dan opened his mouth, presumably to add another taunt about Amy and Ian's strange relationship when he was cut off by Vikram Kabra's decisive voice.

**Amy rolled her eyes. "And I'm the queen of England."**

"**You**_**do**_**look wrinkly and boring," Dan said.**

**He darted away before Amy could whack him.**

"Amy seems to like whacking people," Hamilton said suddenly.

Everyone stared at the Tomas boy, only half-comprehending the random comment. Dan made full use of it.

"Yep, and when Ian and Amy get together," he waggled his eyebrows suggestively, "imagine what Amy will do, whacking Cobra when they're doing _stuff_…"

Amy flushed bright red at the innuendo. "How do you even _know_this….this…stuff?" she demanded. Eleven year olds should _not_ be making sexual innuendos.

"Oh you know," Dan shrugged. "Here and there."

"Daniel Cahill," Isabel sneered. "Kindly stop making false insinuations about my son. He would _never_be together with that piece of trash."

Dan's smile disappeared. "Hey!" He was fiercely protective of his older sister, even if he rarely showed it.

"_Ian_ is the piece of trash, and besides, what kind of –"

Dan was cut off abruptly, something that seemed to be happening to him quite often nowadays. This time, the interruption was because Amy had clamped her hand down on his mouth.

"Umff!" Dan protested.

"Dan," Amy whispered so only he could hear. "Please stop arguing." Amy decided to bring up something she had been thinking about since last night, when she had checked out the rest of the books. The orange book, "The Black Circle," kept nagging at her. When she and Dan had broken into the Lucian circle, they had Nataliya helping them. Should they reach "The Black Circle" without killing each other, Nataliya's treachery would be exposed and the Kabras…the Kabras…

"Dan, the orange book, "The Black Circle," it's the one with Nataliya! We need to find a way to not read it; otherwise the Kabras will kill her! Literally!" Amy's hushed whisper brought odd looks from everyone else except for Dan.

Dan's eyes widened, and he gently pulled Amy's hand away. "Fine, I won't argue anymore," his voice was slightly petulant. "We're only on chapter five, don't worry yet."

Amy looked exasperated, but before she could say anything, Vikram began reading again, rather pointedly as if annoyed with the interruptions, which he probably was.

**Soon the cab pulled up to a massive, modern, boxlike building at the edge of a lush park.**

"**Arisugawanomiya!" the cabdriver announced.**

**Dan looked panic-stricken. "What did I do now?"**

"You existed, Daniel," Natalie snapped, irritated.

"**It is the name of the park, and that building is the Central Branch of the Tokyo Metropolitan Library," Alistair explained, as he paid the driver and climbed out. "We have only limited time before Irina catches on. Because we've detached our GPS devices, it is essential that we stay close together. And set your phones to 'vibrate' while in the library."**

"**How can I stand the excitement?" Dan droned.**

**The moment they entered the building, a trim librarian was at Alistair's side, bowing and speaking with him in rapid Japanese. She smiled at Dan and Amy and gestured for them to follow her.**

"**You know her?" Dan whispered as they climbed a grand marble staircase. "Like from back in your shogun-hunting days?"**

"It's proper courtesy, Daniel," Natalie said, inspecting her nails. "If you had any brains, you'd know that."

"I know that," Dan retorted. "Do you like hearing yourself talk? Because no one's listening to you. Man, you are so narcissistic!"

The word brought curious looks from the rest of the Cahills, and spluttering from Natalie.

"**No, she is just being courteous," Alistair replied, his limp barely noticeable as he walked. "It is respect for my age. Although perhaps Ms. Nakamura remembers my television appearances ten years ago. My company's Terribly Tasty Teriyaki microwavable burritos were quite the rage."**

**They entered a small private room lined with bookcases. On one wall a couple of small windows overlooked the street. In the center was a bank of computers. "Please do not hesitate to come to me with any questions," Ms. Nakamura said in lightly accented English, exchanging bows with Alistair and shutting the door behind her.**

Amy and Dan exchanged looks. This was the part when they revealed the first few clues, which the Kabras would no doubt soak up. They might be reading about the past, but the past held as much secrets as the future.

Ian didn't miss this silent exchange, and his eyes narrowed as he wondered why.

Jonah knew something would be revealed in this chapter, and he was listening. Free clues were awesome.

"**I told her we were conducting research for a new interactive website on possible burrito fillings," Alistair said, resting both hands on his walking stick as he leaned toward Amy and Dan. "But my question to you is, why are we**_**really**_**here?"**

**Amy's eyes darted over to Dan. Alistair had asked this question before, and they had evaded him each time. He knew they were up to something.**

**The problem was the swords. Alistair didn't know about them. He hadn't seen the secret engraving on one of the blades. He had no idea that the second Clue had been tungsten.**

Silence filled the room. The Kabras had a thoughtful look on them, except for Isabel, whose eyes were glinting.

Hamilton and Jonah seemed to be focused on memorizing it.

Alistair's eyes were narrowed. Everybody else was storing the information carefully in their brains.

Amy and Dan exchanged worried glances. If there was a Clue review of sort in every book, then they were basically giving all their Clues to the others.

Vikram continued reading, his voice slightly more eager.

_**He's even more confused than we are,**_**Amy thought. Iron solute and tungsten weren't exactly obvious interlocking puzzle pieces. The first was an ingredient in ink, the second was the material that burns in incandescent light bulbs. How could they fit together? Amy and Dan needed to know so much more – but one thing was pretty clear. Somehow the swords were the key to the next Clue. Maybe Alistair**_**could**_**help them find out, Dan thought. But the risks were great. Alistair just might take the info and run; he'd done it before.**_**Trust no one –**_**that had been Amy and Dan's motto. Whenever they'd forgotten it, they'd regretted it.**

**And they desperately needed to limit regrets.**

"Ha!" Natalie snorted derisively. "You've trusted nearly everyone in the Clue Hunt at least one time."

Alistair looked disappointed. "Do you really trust me so little?"

Dan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, we do. How many times have you disappeared from us? Like a million?"

"**It was…a code," Dan said, improvising a white lie. "In the music. Mozart's music. The code said, um, 'Go to Japan.' In the key of C? That's all we know."**

**Alistair shrugged, sitting at a laptop. "Not much to go on, but that hasn't stopped us before. Let's each work awhile and then compare notes, shall we?"**

**Amy and Dan made sure to sit opposite him, so their monitors were not visible to Alistair. Amy typed into a search bar:**

**JAPAN****TUNGSTEN SWORD  
87,722 HITS.**

"**This is going to be a long day," murmured Amy.**

"Not really," Dan pointed out. "Every day is twenty four hours, so there are no long or short days."

Amy rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

**Dan typed:**

**NINJA WARRIOR IMAGES**

**1,694,117 HITS.**

**He smiled. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.**

Amy and Nellie rolled their eyes for the ninth time.

**BODY PAINTING AND THE TATOO WAS THE BELONGING TO SLAVES AND PRISIONER OF ANCINT JAPAN. SOME OF DESIGN HAS BEEN HISTORICAL REPLICATION BY OURS TATTOO ARTISTS ALL WHO IS GRADUATE OF COLLEGES IN HISTORY DILPOMA.**

Isabel looked disgusted. "Horrible grammar," she muttered.

"And spelling," rumbled Vikram, since he was reading.

**Dan scrolled down. The images were clearer than the English translation. Some of these designs were amazing, covering a person's whole back. There were dozens – dragons, historical scenes, countrysides, ornate scrollwork…**

**He stopped. Something in one of the images looked familiar.**

_So this is how the brats get the Clues,_Isabel thought. _The Internet. Perhaps I should__set__Ian and Natalie to hacking their__laptop._

**Scooting back up the page, he found it and clicked through. Slowly, a magnified version filled the screen.**

"**Dan,**_**what**_**do you think you're doing?" Amy asked, looking over his shoulder.**

"**Is this cool or what?" Dan said.**

**Amy gestured to her laptop screen, which showed a map of Japan. "We're supposed to be locating our clue!"**

"**Uh, excuse me, Dora the Explorer, look closely – these characters? They are the same ones we saw on the sword!"**

**Oops.**

_A photographic memory then, perhaps?_Isabel was creating lists of the two brats' strong points. She had underestimated them for far too long.

No one else seemed to think it was "oops." Everyone else wanted answers.

**Dan's hands immediately shot up to his mouth. He hadn't meant to say the S word.**

**Amy's eyes went all buggy.**_**Dan, you moron!**_**They said silently.**

**Dan and Amy glanced at Alistair, who had been intently writing down something he was seeing on his screen. Slowly he looked up. He seemed pale, almost sick.**

"**Uncle Alistair…?" Dan said. "Are you okay?"**

**Alistair did not answer for a few seconds. He took off his glasses and wiped them with a pocket handkerchief. "Fine. Staring at the screen for long periods of time…it gets harder to do when you're old. Forgive me. Have you, er, found anything?"**

"**Yes," said Dan.**

"**No," said Amy.**

"**Yes and no," clarified Dan. "Have you?"**

**Alistair nodded absently. "Come. Look."**

It was slightly amusing how everyone tensed up. It was like someone was announcing the winner of a billion dollars. But of course, Clues were much more important than money.

**Amy and Dan scooted around to see Alistair's screen. He was minimizing a webmail site to reveal a web page that showed a painting of a fierce-looking Japanese warrior holding a severed head.**

"**Eww…" Amy murmured.**

"**Dude, it's only pixels," Dan said. "But…eww."**

"How is it 'eww'?" Hamilton asked. "It's gory and awesome!"

"You're a Tomas," Amy said. "You like gore. We don't."

"**The, um, Bald Rat," Alistair continued, his voice still faraway and distracted. "Also known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi."**

"**Hide**_**who**_**shi?" Dan replied.**

"Isn't that the green dinosaur that always goes around with Mario?" Hamilton asked.

Everybody stared.

Hamilton looked uncomfortable. "I was bored, okay!"

Nobody noticed him discreetly patting a rectangular-shaped item in his baggy pocket.

"**He – he was the greatest warrior in the history of Japan," Alistair went on, "but most records show him as rather hideous-looking. Lived in the fifteen hundreds. He began as a peasant and rose to unbelievable power, conquering the various tribes and factions and united the country as a major power for the first time." Alistair paused, lowering his voice. "He was also one of your Cahill ancestors –"**

"**I**_**thought**_**I saw the resemblance to Amy," Dan said.**

"You mean you saw the resemblance in yourself," Nellie grinned.

Dan shook his head. "No, I'm absolutely certain it was Amy."

"You're always going on about ninjas," Nellie retaliated. "So it has to be you."

Dan opened his mouth to retort, and then closed it. He was cornered.

Natalie stifled a giggle.

"– **A Tomas, as a matter of fact. Descended from Thomas Cahill. Thomas traveled to the Far East in the sixteenth century – some say for the purposes of trade, others say to hide in shame after failing to find his wayward sister. At any rate, he settled there and his family became the Tomas branch, famous for their brutishness and warrior ways."**

"That's us!" beamed Hamilton.

Jonah wasn't as enthralled as the Holt boy. "Music is _way_better than fighting, dude."

"Yeah, right," Hamilton glared at the other boy. "You're going to rap someone to death?"

**Dan looked closer. "The Holt family – they're Tomases. They look like tree trunks with dinosaur brains. This guy looks like a weasel."**

Whatever jubilation Hamilton felt at the mention of his family branch dissipated. Dan quickly realized what his book self had said and corrected himself:

"That was before I knew how awesome you were," Dan told Hamilton. And it was true; Hamilton had saved them from many a sticky situation before.

Hamilton eyed the boy warily. "Fine," he said, but he still looked slightly skeptical.


	8. Chapter Five Part Two

**A/N: I won't start listing excuses, just that I know that it's been a while since I updated.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own 39 Clues in any way.**

**List of People to Applaud:**

**RoyalDanielle: Beta. The person who typed up this half chapter (the book parts) because I couldn't get a hold of a copy of the book. So thank her for this update!**

**Amy Cahill09: Random Reviewer**

**Jasper winked: The 39th reviewer**

**So without further ado...**

**

* * *

**

"May we please continue?" Natalie interrupted. She needed to go shopping! The lack of it was driving her nuts! The sooner they finished the books the sooner she could go shopping.

**"It makes sense Hideyoshi would be a Tomas," Amy said. "The strength. The gross way he's holding that head."**

Hamilton pretended to glare at her. Dan snickered.

****

"Evolution is odd. It does not favor the Tomas." Alistair's grim expression loosened a bit, edging into a semi smile. "Of course, I am showing my bias as an Ekat. Anyway, I strongly believe our search should begin with Hideyoshi. The man had a lot of secrets. Some say the secrets undid him."

**"Secrets is our middle name, dude," Dan said.**

"Really now?" purred Natalie. "I thought your middle name was _Fool_."

Dan glared at her. "What would _you_ know about middle names, Natalie _I'm-in-love-with-my-reflection_ Kabra?"

Vikram cleared his throat, and the reading commenced.

****

Alistair leveled his gaze at Dan and then Amy. The color was returning to his face now. "I was going to keep this information to myself. After what happened in Salzburg, I wasn't sure I could trust you two. In fact, today I was tempted to conduct this entire search for the Hideyoshi link without your knowledge."

**"Well, that makes two of us," Dan blurted out.**

"What am I, chopped liver?" Amy said, glaring at Dan.

Dan shrugged. "I wasn't thinking about you."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Of course not," she said sarcastically.

**"Three," Amy corrected. With a quick, tentative look toward Dan, she added, "We didn't think we could trust**_**you**_**, Uncle Alistair."**

**Alistair nodded. "I have devoted myself to earning your confidence again. Trust is a fragile thing-difficult to build, easy to break. It cannot be bargained for. Only if it is freely given can it be accepted in return." He looked from Amy to Dan. "To break the chain of mistrust, someone has to go first. I am happy to make the move. You deserve no less."**

"And still you disappeared after we helped you," Dan mumbled.

"That incident in Korea was necessary," Alistair lied. He couldn't tell him the truth, not in front of everyone.

"Yeah, _riiiight_." Dan obviously didn't believe him.

**Solemnly, he turned back to his screen. "Hideyoshi was a bit of a paranoid who liked to hoard things," Alistair continued, scrolling down the screen into the biographical text. "For example, the Great Sword Hunt of 1588, when he forced all the farmers and peasants to give over their swords. He claimed he wanted to melt them down for a large statue of Buddha. But that was a lie."**

"If he made everyone give him their swords," Hamilton asked, "then why is it called a sword hunt? Shouldn't it be...The Great Sword Gift or something?"

Jonah gave an exaggerated sigh of frustration. "'Cause they named it that. Don't you know anything?"

"But why?" Hamilton pressed, glaring at Jonah.

"Cause...um..." Jonah scrambled to make up a convincing tale. "When he got the swords he said 'This is for the Clue Hunt!' "

Natalie sniffed. "No doubt why you're losing the hunt," she told the rap star. "You don't know _anything."_

"Yo, man," Jonah looked slightly embarrassed. "I was, uh, joking! Yep, that's the word!"

Everyone looked at him skeptically. "Uh huh…." Dan mumbled.

****

"And the truth was . . .?" Amy said.

Alistair shrugged. "One of the great mysteries. He also took measures to prevent farmers and peasants from rising to the warrior class. He seemed to be afraid of this."

**"But **_**he**_** rose from the poor," Amy said.**

**"You must think like a warrior, sister-san," Dan said. "He was afraid **_**because**_** he rose from the poor. He thought somebody else might, too – and whip his ninja butt."**

**Alistair nodded. "Perhaps he suspected more Tomas offspring-or worse, Ekaterina-lived in the provinces. The Ekat and Tomas branches were at war even then. Was he trying to hide swords from the Ekats to prevent them from rising against him? We don't know. If only we knew **_**where**_** he hid the swords. The **_**where **_**might lead to the **_**why**_**." With a shrug, Alistair turned to face them. "Okay, I've told you all I know."**

_Why do you still trust them, Alistair? _Ian thought. _And why do they still trust you, if even the bare minimum?_

Ian knew that Alistair knew that while trusting Amy and Dan would get him clues, it also made room for backstabbing. And yet…out of all the Cahills, Amy and Dan trusted Alistair the most, which said a lot about the reliability of the other Cahills.

Ian sighed inwardly. Once upon a time, Amy had trusted him. Now...?

He pushed the matter out of his mind and concentrated on the story.

****

Dan glanced at his sister. The ball was in their court now.

_**He's shown us his own secrets,**_** her eyes were saying. **_**We owe him.**_

_**He was looking at his webmail,**_** Dan thought in return.**_** He didn't show us THAT.**_

_**That's different, **_**she argued.**_** We need him.**_

_****_

Besides his cash and his knowledge of Japanese, what good is he?

_**Besides your nicely shaped left earlobe, what good are you?**_

"Funny, I never noticed that," Hamilton muttered, scrutinizing Dan carefully. The room was quiet for a moment as everyone examined Dan's earlobes.

Natalie, however, averted her eyes. A light blush spread across her cheeks.

After a few moments of examination, everyone turned to Vikram expectantly. The Kabra patriarch, however, was looking at his wife.

_So, they can somehow manage to communicate silently,_he thought. He could clearly see in Isabel's eyes that she was taking mental notes. In the hunt, even the smallest bit of information was gold.

He cleared his throat again and started to speak.

**Dan glowered at her.**_** You're the oldest, YOU mention it.**_

**Amy turned to Alistair. "We think . . . we found some of the swords," she said. "In Venice ."**

**"Hideyoshi's swords – in **_**Italy**_**?" Alistair looked flabbergasted.**

****

With a sigh, Dan mumbled, "They were in the house of some Italian dude, Fidelio Racco."

**"Racco. . ." Alistair said. "A Janus. Yet the clue points to a Tomas stronghold. Curious. Here in Japan , there are rumored to be secret Hideyoshi hiding places, but they are allegedly guarded by the descendants of Hideyoshi-many of them **_**yakuza**_**."**

**Dan smiled.**_** Now**_** he was talking. "Whoa – awesome!" Dan exclaimed. "I battled them at Level Four in. . .um, **_**Ninja Gaiden**_**, I think? Those guys are mad gangsta! They'll cut off your arms and feed them to you for lunch."**

**"Can't wait to meet them," Amy said.**

"You want to meet them?" Jonah exclaimed, looking at Amy weirdly.

"Sarcasm, mentally challenged rap star, sarcasm," Nellie rolled her eyes.

****

"We tried to bring the swords here," Dan barreled on. "They're in my luggage. One of them had some markings. We figured the markings were important – maybe they give information about the next clue."

Alistair's eyes widened. "Is there any way we can retrieve these swords?"

"Well, maybe we don't have to." Dan nodded to his screen. "The same markings are on this tattoo."

**Dan had never seen Alistair move so fast. He leaned over Dan's shoulders and squinted at the image. "Are you**_**sure**_** this was printed on the sword?"**

****

"Yup," Dan said. "Well, not exactly. There were some other characters too. They're missing here."

Amy shook her head. "How can you be sure? You don't know a word of Japanese."

**"Uh, yeah," Dan said. "And I don't read a note of music. But let's see, who was the one who **_**memorized a whole Mozart song and found our last clue**_**? Wait, wait, let me try to remember. Oh. I know – me!"**

"You memorized the _whole song?"_Ian said incredelously. "Is that how you got the swords?"

Dan smirked. "Yeah. While you and Natalie played the wrong song. Remember how _unconscious_you were?"

Isabel turned her basilisk gaze on her children. "They rendered you unconscious?"

Ian and Natalie gulped nervously. "We hacked Daniel's laptop, and we printed out the Mozart song, but the Cahills had a different version…so the trap on the piano…" Ian's voice trailed off.

Vikram placed a restraining hand on Isabel's shoulder. "Careful, my belle," he murmured, so only she could hear. "Not in front of them."

And so he began to read again, as if nothing had happened.

**"Dan, are you**_** sure**_** there were characters missing?" Alistair said. "Because the message, as is, is fairly innocuous-an incantation to luck, honor, triumph and such."**

**"Definitely. At the beginning of each line, there was some weird-looking letter. Like from another language. You know, Sanscript maybe."**

**"It's Sanskr**_**it, **_**tattoo-brain," Amy said, sitting at her laptop. "Guess you don't remember **_**everything**_** perfectly."**

**She turned to her uncle, who was furiously tapping away on his keyboard. "What do you now about these**_**yakuza**_** people, Uncle Alistair?"**

****

She thought she could feel him shudder. "They are very nasty and very deadly," he said softly. "Trust me, we do not want to cross their paths."

"You know some of them personally?" Dan said.

**"They know me and despise me," Alistair said. "I am an Ekat. The Tomas and Ekats have been bitter enemies for centuries. The **_**yakuza**_** have long been suspected to possess a map to a secret underground crypt. And if I am to understand this recent message, we may have found a copy."**

"If y-you ask me," Amy said quietly, "I think b-branch rivalries are stupid. If the Ekaterina and Tomas allied, then t-they would be strong. B-brains and b-brute strength."

"Well, no one asked you," Natalie snapped. As stupid as the Holts were, she didn't want the Ekaterina and Tomas allying. It would be dangerous, and the Lucians needed taking over the world to be as easy as possible.

"I suppose that could work," Alistair mused. "But I'm afraid it'll take a lot of convincing to do."

Hamilton shook his head. "Dad would never do it. I wish he would, though."

Dan glanced at Amy. She was following her Madrigal blood, subtly trying to get the branches to ally together, trying to stop their petty rivalries.

****

He hit the PRINT button. From the library's printer, a map slowly made its way into the paper tray, an ancient image showing a complicated ribbon of tunnels.

"Cool!" Dan exclaimed.

**"You **_**knew**_** about this all along?" Amy asked.**

****

Alistair shook his head. Once again, his face became pale and drawn. "I have long been searching for certain . . . stolen Ekat documents not related to this. One of my colleagues has managed to find a hidden cache. I received a message from him on webmail while we were in Salzburg , with several attachments-including this map."

He showed them the printout, which had the heading OF UNKNOWN SIGNIFICANCE.

**"Wait – Ekat documents? **_**Colleagues**_**? What else are you keeping from us? How can you – "**

**Amy's words stopped in her throat. The cursor on Dan's monitor was moving from the middle of the screen up to the left corner.**

"Here come the Holts!" Hamilton grinned. Then his smile dropped. At times, he was ashamed of what his family would do for the clues.

"You mean _Dolts,"_Natalie mumbled under her breath. Dan glared at her.

"Hamilton and Reagan are far smarter than you will ever be!"

"I highly doubt that, Daniel," she purred.

****

"Dan?" Amy said. "Stop that, okay?"

"Stop what?" Dan replied.

**"We know libraries bore you, but can't you take **_**anything**_** seriously?" Amy replied. "You're playing a trick, right? You have something in your pocket and it's sending a signal to the computer. Otherwise,**_** why would the cursor be moving**_**?"**

**Now the cursor was on the BACK button, clicking rapidly through every page Dan had visited-tattoos, information on Hideyoshi and the Sword Hunt, the Facebook pages of three sixth-grade girls –**

Everyone's eyes turned to Dan.

"Dan," Amy narrowed her eyes. "Why were you on Facebook pages of three sixth grade girls when _you were supposed to be finding things out about the Hunt?"_

"Um…" Dan stuttered. "Uh…."

"Perhaps Daniel has a secret crush," Ian offered.

Natalie clenched her fists.

"It's _Dan,_and no, I don't like anyone." The faint blush on Dan's face, however, proved otherwise.

Vikram's voice cut in, sounding amused but also stern.

"May we return to the book? We have more important things to think about than a stupid boy's pathetic love life."

"Hey!" Dan glared at the Lucian leader. But secretly, he was grateful that the questioning had stopped.

God only knew what they would have done if they ever found out who he liked...

****

"Hey!" Dan shouted.

"It's a keylogger," Alistair said, swiftly picking up the laptop. "Someone has hacked into the computer remotely and is spying on everything you've looked at today."

With a solid yank, he pulled the electric plug from the back, and the screen went dead. A steady beeping noise began, and an LCD panel by the light switch flashed red Japanese characters that looked suspiciously like some form of EMERGENCY.

"How did they do it?" Amy asked.

Dan took the laptop, examining the PC card. "It's an 802.11g wireless," he said. "So they have to be pretty close. I don't know, maybe like thirty yards-or fifty if they have a booster or something."

Alistair headed for the window. "Which means either they're in the building or in one of those cars outside."

**One of those **_**hundreds**_** of cars, he could have said-if you considered the cars at the curb, in the nearby parking lot, and bumper-to-bumper on the road.**

_**Tap-tap-tap-tap!**_

****

The rapping on the door made them all jump. "Is everything all right in there?" a tiny, timid voice called in.

**It sounded like Ms. Nakamura, but there was something about her tone. . .**

"I t-told you not to open the d-door," Amy said to Alistair, exasperated.

It seemed to be Amy who was the brains of the duo, or sometimes trio (including Alistair, who was supposed to be an _Ekaterina_). Isabel narrowed her eyes as she placed Amy's death over Dan's. Without Amy, Dan would fall apart, and then her son would be able to get over his infatuation. Also, without the two annoying brats….the Lucians' path to glory would be clear.

It was amazing what a single death could do.

****

Alistair went to the door. "She may know how to run a trace."

"No!" Amy blurted out.

"Ms. Nakamura," Alistair said, yanking the doorknob, "your library has been compromised-"

The door flew open-and Alistair was staring into the massive chest of a gray XXXL T-shirt.

**"No kidding, Sherwood," said Eisenhower Holt, with a grin so wide it nearly touched the edges of his stiff military brush cut. "Now fall in line, all of you – and **_**march**_**!"**

"Told you so," Amy murmured.

"How did you _riffraff_ manage to hack into a computer?" Isabel snarled at Hamilton.

"We're not stupid, you know," Hamilton snapped. He was getting tired with how the branches underestimated the Holts. Even though he and his family were strong, it didn't mean they couldn't be smart as well!

Natalie shook her head and was about to say something when Dan cut her off. He grinned at her annoyed look.

"Who's going to read next?" Dan asked.

"Amy can read," Ian suggested.

"But –" Amy was interrupted by the dark blonde boy, who grabbed the book from Vikram.

"Here you go, little sister!" Dan beamed.

"I'm older than you!" Amy protested. Dan waved his hand dismissively. "Sister-san, begin reading! A ninja lord like me can't be kept waiting!"

Amy sighed at her younger brother's antics, but obediently began to read.

"Chapter Six," Amy began, with no stuttering. The sooner the books were done, the sooner they could get back to the hunt. The books needed to be finished, pronto!

* * *

Somewhere nearby, KLK smirked.

"If only you knew what's written there," she laughed to herself. "If only you knew what's waiting for you...especially page 123..."


	9. Chapter Six Part One

**A/N: Hello everyone! I apologize for this extremely late chapter and for its shortness. I'll be able to update slightly faster now, because my summer program just finished and all I have is the end of summer trip next week. **

**List of People to Thank:**

**LittleLobster: The beta of this chapter, and also the one who typed up the book parts of this chapter because I didn't have the book. So a round of applause for her!**

**mikaru zero: The random reviewer of this chapter. **

**RoyalDanielle: My beta who could not beta this chapter because of exams - I wish her luck and thank her all the same :D**

**And the disclaimer...which I sometimes forget to put...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the 39 Clues. I don't own Prada. I don't own anything in this chapter except for the words in normal font.**

**So without further ado...**

**

* * *

**

**Dzzzzz . . .**

"Why are you imitating the sound of a cell phone, Amy?" These were the first words that came out of Dan's mouth when his older sister began reading.

"Because, Dan, these are the words in the book," Amy spoke as if she were speaking to a mentally challenged child, smirking while she did so.

"Oh," Dan blinked. Then he grinned.

"I knew that. I was just testing you!"

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Sure, Daniel, sure."

Dan beamed. "Why, thank you Cobra! I'm very sure."

Natalie growled inwardly. He was infuriating.

**Amy's phone was vibrating.**

**She glanced around the van. In the passenger seat, Eisenhower Holt was arguing with his wife, Mary-Todd, who was driving. In the next row, eleven-year-olds Madison and Reagan Holt were having a contest to see who could fling boogers into the hair of their older brother, Hamilton. Their pit bull, Arnold, barked greedily, snatching the small projectiles in mid flight with his massive jaws.**

**"Stop it, he'll kill me!" Hamilton cried.**

**"That's the point," Madison replied, clapping her hands.**

"Barbaric," Natalie sniffed. "But you should have died."

Jonah smirked and nodded. Hamilton glared at both Janus and Lucian. "Like a _dog _could ever kill me. Haven't you heard of exaggeration?"

Alistair froze and stared in astonishment. The younger generation were certainly more…lively and clever…"You know what that means?"

"Exaggeration? Of course I know what it means," Hamilton seemed exasperated. "I'm not dumb you know."

Alistair shook his head to himself. In his day, he had never known a Tomas who was that intellectual. Could it perhaps be some sort of mutated gene? He would have to contact a few of his fellow branch members to have them research the theory.

**"Sherwood is the forest, dear," Mary-Todd was insisting to her husband. "The detective was Sherlock."**

**"We'll look it up!" Eisenhower declared. "May I remind you, Mary-Todd, at West Point my IQ was measured at nearly a perfect one hundred. Well, okay, eighty-nine – but I hadn't even practiced!"**

**"One hundred is considered normal, sugar maple," Mary-Todd replied.**

**"Normal is the enemy of creativity," Eisenhower crowed. "A Holt is never normal – as evidenced by our ingenious capture of the Cahills!"**

Everyone coughed. Hamilton stared at the floor, looking embarrassed.

Jonah kept coughing, which was a very poor attempt of disguising his laughter. Apparently, being "da bomb" didn't teach you how to act at times like this.

"Do you need a cough drop, Jonah?" Nellie drawled pointedly, and the coughing stopped abruptly.

"No wonder he got kicked out of West Point," Dan muttered under his breath. Then he glanced uneasily at Hamilton. "No offense, man."

Hamilton simply shrugged.

**Dzzzzz . . .**

**Amy moved her hand into her left pants pocket and pulled out her phone, making sure to keep it out of sight. On the right, she was jammed up against Alistair, who was seething with rage. He in turn was jammed up against Dan – who seemed oblivious, reading a handful of tourist pamphlets the Holts had left on the van floor.**

**Quickly she glanced at the call screen:**

**GOMEZ, NELLIE**

**She stifled a scream and stared sharply at Alistair and Dan, flashing the screen at them at waist level.**

**Nellie was alive!**

"Of course I'm alive," Nellie snapped, smiling slightly. "I'm not that fragile, you know."

Saladin gave an irritated _mrrp_. His reproaching eyes fixed themselves on Dan to convey the message _'What about me?'_

"Sorry, little guy," Dan murmured. Saladin purred as if everything was all right again.

"You failed," Isabel Kabra was glaring at Ian and Natalie. "Again. Could you not even defeat a stupid dimwitted au pair and two penniless orphans?" Her voice was quiet and hissing, and only Ian, Natalie, and Vikram could hear.

Natalie looked scared, and she edged back against the sofa. "Mother…"

Luckily, Amy started reading again, but that didn't stop Isabel Kabra from staring venomously in her children's direction. But even so, Ian and Natalie never felt more grateful to Amy.

**"YESSSS – WOO-HOO!" Dan blurted.**

**"The Cahill boy agrees with me!" Eisenhower said with a grin, turning around toward the back of the van. "Smart boy. You're going places. Like, with us – as a captive! Har-har!"**

**The entire Holt family cracked up, except for Arnold, who seemed confused by the sudden absence of flying minitreats.**

**"Too bad you weren't smart enough to detect us following you every step of the way," Eisenhower continued, "with our patented Holt hackment technology. First we hacked into the tracking device on your cat – until we found that your cat was your uncle!"**

**Madison and Reagan looked at him in total bewilderment.**

**"Then we tailed him to the airport, where I ordered that we attempt the greatest technological feat of all," Eisenhower went on, "breaking into the airline ticketing mainframe!"**

Vikram looked slightly disgusted. "That is hardly the greatest technological feat of all. We Lucians have created far more dangerous and advanced technology."

Dan rolled his eyes and began mouthing the Lucian leader's words as they were spoken.

'Showing off as usual,' he said to Amy silently.

Amy couldn't help but agree.

"But, then again, I suppose your father was too stupid to know any better," Vikram finished in a drawl, staring at Hamilton.

Hamilton's fists clenched and his face was rapidly reddening. He glared back furiously, and before anyone could stop him, leapt at Vikram Kabra.

"Don't –" Hamilton swiped at Vikram, who quickly dodged the blow. "Ever –" Another miss. "Talk –" This time he landed a punch in the stomach. "About –" Miss. "My –" Dan leapt to Hamilton's side and tried to drag him off. As much as he hated the Cobras, he needed to stop Hamilton because he was pretty sure that they would get revenge on them. And revenge meant that more bad things were going to happen to Amy and Hamilton and Dan and everyone else.

Amy dropped the book and followed Dan. They were barely managing to keep the furious Hamilton off Vikram when Ian and Natalie joined in.

Vikram stood up and dusted himself off as if nothing had happened. Then he sat back down casually, ignoring the bruise that was probably forming on his stomach.

Amy, Dan, Ian, and Natalie forced Hamilton down into a chair, restraining him until he calmed down.

After ten minutes, they released him warily, sweaty from the effort, and Natalie began complaining about her Prada again.

Amy picked up the book and started reading again, her voice breathless.

**"But then I reminded him that all he needed to do was follow your limo," Mary-Todd spoke up.**

**Madison chimed in: "Once we were at the other airport? And we saw you get into the jet? We just asked this really hot flight guy, Fabio? Where you were going?" She grinned. "And he told us."**

**"Rawf," said Arnold.**

**"Thusly," Eisenhower said, "we were able to commandeer our own flight to Japan, where we beat you to the airport and waited until you arrived, following your every move until our ultimate coup – keyloggering your very laptop to filch all your information! And now that I have you three, I can realize my life's goal. Not just reaching the thirty-nine clues first. But placing the Holt name where it belongs – at the very crest of the Tomas family . . . crest. No longer will history look upon the Holts as dolts. No longer will we be the black sheep, the stain on the family underpants, the smelly footnote to the Tomas legend. And you will help us achieve our destiny by leading us to the very thing your research revealed – the next clue, which is in the tunnels of Tokyo!"**

**"You figured that out all by yourself?" Amy asked, barely containing the relief she felt at knowing her au pair was okay.**

**"About fifty-three percent of it," said Eisenhower.**

**"More like forty-seven," Mary-Todd said.**

**"I knew that sounded wrong," Eisenhower said.**

**"Uh, Dad? I was the one who did all that tech stuff," Reagan whined.**

**"Dad what?" Eisenhower commanded.**

**"Dad, sir," Reagan said.**

"I thought it was you that did all the tech stuff," Dan said, looking confused.

Hamilton shrugged, the last vestiges of his anger fading, though he still glared occasionally at Vikram. "Reagan and me switch around," he said finally.

"Reagan and I," Amy and Ian corrected Hamilton at the same time. When they've realized this, they both looked away and blushed, Amy more so than Ian.

Trying to hide her embarrassment, Amy quickly began reading again, her voice trembling slightly.

**"Your argument is as inane as your conversation," Alistair spoke up, his voice a barely controlled rasp. "You got nothing from hacking the system. You stole my map, you windbag."**

**"Uncle Alistair?" Amy said. She had never seen him like this.**

**"Is someone meowing back there?" Eisenhower said. "Do I hear an E-kat?"**

**"Rawf?" said Arnold, suddenly drooling.**

**Alistair laughed defiantly. "What makes you miscreants think you can actually read that map correctly? It's written in Japanese."**

**"Ha! No grass grows over the head of a Holt!" Eisenhower thundered. "I overheard you through the library door, talking about an ancient underground crypt. So we will start at . . . the underground crypt district. Harch!"**

**The van lurched to the left.**

**Dan looked up from a map of the Tokyo subway system. His face was all lit up, the way it was whenever he'd broken a code or discovered a cheat in World of Warcraft. "Crypt? I think we're better off checking out the subway system."**

**The van lurched to the right.**

**"I have to pee," Madison announced.**

"So vulgar," Isabel flicked her hair in distaste, and Ian, Natalie, Dan, and Amy tensed, waiting for Hamilton to blow up again. But he didn't, and the only thing he said was, "Madison said that, not me."

Dan was proud of him for staying calm.

**The van skidded to a stop on the shoulder of the road. "Will someone make a decision?" Mary-Todd said.**

**As the Holts ramped up their various arguments, Alistair whispered to Dan, "Subway system, my boy? Do tell."**

**"First, I memorized your map," Dan began with a bit too much enthusiasm.**

**"Ssshhh!" Amy hissed.**

**"The secret tunnels and the subway," Dan barreled on. "They match – almost exactly! I'm figuring maybe the subway was built into the already existing tunnels!"**

**The Holts shut up at once.**

**"Dan –" Amy warned. "You're telling this to them!"**

**Dan looked up, bewildered. "I was telling Uncle Alistair."**

**"But we-ee-ee heard you," Reagan sang in a taunt, and stuck out her tongue. "Besides, if you hadn't told us, you'd be dead meat."**

"Well, it looks like the Dolts – oh I'm sorry – Holts aren't the only stupid ones, Daniel," Natalie drawled.

Dan grinned. He knew perfectly well what she was taking about, "I see it, too," Dan said brightly. "It's nice of you to admit your own issues, Natalie."

Natalie turned pink and glared at the boy angrily. "That's not what I meant Daniel, and you know it!"

"It's Dan and that's exactly what you meant."

Amy placed a warning hand on Dan's forearm and continued reading.

**"Rawf," said Arnold, baring his saliva-glistened incisors.**

**Dan's face turned white. He cast a guilty look at Amy and at Alistair, whose face had become suddenly cloudy. "Um, well . . . the thing is? It's not really a match. So I was wrong. 'Cause, um, there's this big difference. In the center of the old map, there's an intersection with a large room. In the subway map, the tracks are parallel. So . . . see? It must be the wrong place . . . "**

**"Where two maps diverge is precisely where the secret might be!" Eisenhower crowed.**

**"Brilliant as always!" Mary-Todd said.**

**Amy groaned. The stupider Dan became, the smarter it made Eisenhower Holt.**

_'I need to place a chip on Daniel and Amy Cahill's brains,_' Isabel thought. _'I must hear their conversations. Even if it fails, we would know how to improve the chips for future bugging. _

It continually annoyed her to no end that Ian and Natalie, who both had access to the world's greatest resources, were doing far worse than the Cahills, who had virtually no resources at all.

**"Sweet," said Hamilton with a sneer.**

**Suddenly, Eisenhower looked at them with narrowed eyes. "Now, you're not trying to trap us, are you? We're not as dumb as we look. Or . . . whatever."**

**"Well . . ." Dan looked helplessly from Amy to Alistair. "There are subway stops on either side. I'm figuring the one at the northern end, Yotsuya, is closer."**

**"We'll take the one at the southern end," Eisenhower commanded.**

**The van lurched into the road again.**

**"Now I really have to pee," said Madison.**

"Manners, Holt, manners," Jonah took a jab at Hamilton.

Nellie rolled her eyes at Jonah. "Like you have any."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Jonah held up one hand. ""I got manners too, man! I'm just…uh…too busy being da bomb to use them!"

Everyone looked at Jonah doubtfully. No wonder he was so behind in the Clue Hunt.

"Um…" Amy spoke up hesitantly. "There's a b-break h-here…"

"Perhaps you should finish reading the whole chapter, Amy," Ian spoke up quietly. His feelings for Amy were muddled, but he still liked hearing her voice. It soothed him, but it also stirred irritation deep within him. Even so, he wanted her to keep reading.

Amy stared at Ian in surprise, her lips parted in surprise.

"You're going to catch flies that way, Amy," Dan told his sister in a matter-of-fact tone.

Amy reddened and she shut her mouth quickly. "A-alright then," she murmured.

Then she continued to read . . .


	10. Chapter Six Part Two

**A/N: Back from the school trip to Connecticut! This is Part Two of Chapter Six, brought to you by:**

**List:**

**Little Lobster: The Beta. The sender of the book parts. All hail, Little Lobster. **

**Lieutenant of Artemis: The random reviewer. All hail, Lieutenant of Artemis.**

**RoyalDanielle: Is back in business. All welcome back, RoyalDanielle.**

**I will be posting a double chapter update soon...now that I have more time on my hands.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the 39 Clues. I do not own Prada. I only own the normal font parts...and this A/N.**

**So without further ado...**

**

* * *

**

**They waited silently until the train left Nagatacho station. They were the only ones on the subway platform now. The train schedule, which Alistair had picked up from the attendant, said that the next train arrived at 5:40. He checked his watch.**

**Then he looked down at the tracks – the **_**dark**_**, **_**narrow **_**tracks that led into a pitch-black tunnel on either side.**

**"It's five-seventeen," he said, his voice shaking. "We have exactly twenty-three minutes."**

**Eisenhower stepped to the edge of the platform. "Fall in, troops!" he said.**

"Is he always like that?" Dan asked Hamilton. "Like, all military and stuff?"

Hamilton nodded. "After West Point…well…yeah, I guess."

Vikram sneered. "Yes, that lovely school he was expelled from."

Alistair shifted uncomfortably. Being expelled from Harvard really is embarrassing …

Hamilton glared at the Kabra patriarch, but didn't respond. It was the truth, after all.

**"I want to go first!" Madison said.**

**"She kept us waiting when she was in the bathroom," Reagan complained. "Can**_**I**_**go? Please?"**

**"It's almost Mom's birthday," Hamilton said.**

**"**_**Rawf**_**," said Arnold, diving over the edge to chase a soot-blackened rat that skittered across the tracks.**

"Disgusting," Isabel said, flipping her hair. "Public facilities these days are always so filthy. But of course, we, Kabras never have to go through such indecencies."

Nellie twitched. She could never stand rich, pretentious, spoiled people like the Kabras. "Maybe it's the indecencies that make you _lose_," she said flatly, glaring at Jonah and the Kabras. "Amy and Dan are winning, and they go through what you call "indecencies" every day."

Amy blushed, staring at her lap. Dan just looked away. The Kabras had no response to that, but just thinking that they would subject themselves to such filthy methods of transportation made them wince.

**"Every Holt for himself!" Eisenhower cried, pulling green gardener's gloves from his pocket, snapping them on, and lowering himself over the edge. "Be sure not to touch the fourth rail!"**

"Forgive me for asking," Ian was trying to retain as much dignity as possible. "but isn't it the _third _rail that you must avoid?"

**"**_**Third**_**, hug-muffin," Mary-Todd said.**

Dan rolled his eyes. "Duh."

**As Madison and Reagan followed, Alistair took Dan and Amy's arms and stepped slowly backward. He was trying to escape. But Mary-Todd and Hamilton stood in his path, arms folded. "Uh-uh-uh!" Hamilton tutted.**

**"Nice try, Uncle," Dan whispered.**

**It was 5:19. Twenty-one minutes left.**

**With a sigh, Dan climbed onto the track, followed by Amy, Alistair, and the remaining Holts. A stream, inky black, ran between the rails. A gum wrapper floated by. Ahead of them, the tunnel plunged into blackness. Dan felt woozy. He and Amy hadn't had much luck in underground places. Images began floating in his brain.**_**Running . . . running . . . from Jonah Wizard in a subterranean museum in Venice . . . from the Kabras in the Catacombs under Paris . . . from a train . . . from a memory . . .**_**He could still feel Amy's hand yanking him away from the approaching subway car in Paris, his backpack disappearing underneath the tons of speeding steel, the scream ripping from his throat. To anyone else, the faded snapshot he'd kept in that pack – the smiling couple – would have seemed blurry and uninteresting. But to Dan, it was as important as life. He had looked at it ever day, memorized every last pixel. It was the only memento, the only remaining image of the parents he barely remembered. And now it was gone, a continent away.**

Normally, Natalie would have sneered and made fun of whoever thought this, but one look at Daniel's face sent her skipping the other way. She knew she was lucky to have a mother however… different Isabel Kabra was. And she knew how much Daniel missed his parents. And besides…she couldn't afford to get her Prada ripped again.

So she simply sat there.

**"Hup-two-three-four . . ." Eisenhower called out.**

**Amy pulled Dan forward, shaking the memory from his brain.**_**Splash-splash-splash-thwuck**_**, went his footsteps. "**_**Thwuck?**_**" he squeaked.**

"Maybe a rat?" Hamilton suggested.

Dan shuddered. Rats… Mice were fine with him, but rats were not.

**"Don't ask," said Amy. Even in the near-blackness, Dan could tell her face was bone-white.**

**They trudged onward, keeping to the middle of the track to avoid the third rail, until the dimming light of the station behind them faded to nothing. "Report on progress!" Eisenhower called out.**

**Dan's hands shook as he shone his pocket flashlight on the subway map. Ahead of them, the light of the next station was barely visible. They had passed the halfway point. "According to this," Dan said, "we should be about there now. The intersection would have been to our left."**

**"At ease!" Eisenhower said. "Fall in to examine hidden methods of egress!"**

"Does he even know what egress means?" Alistair asked, continually being surprised at the Tomas' intelligence.

Hamilton shrugged. "I don't know. But doesn't it mean an exit or some kind of way out . . . or something?"

"Th-that's t-the rough translation of it," Amy said quietly, and continued reading.

**Amy reached out to her left, feeling along the grime-covered surface. "Nothing there but a wall."**

**"Keep trying," Eisenhower said.**

**Dan frantically pushed and punched, but the wall was solid. Thick cement. He checked his watch, which was already beginning to lose its glow-in-the-dark properties.**

**5:30.**

**"Th-this was a dumb idea," he said, his voice echoing dully in the tunnel. "Look, we have ten minutes. We left the station eleven minutes ago. We have enough time to get back before –"**

**"Abort mission!" Eisenhower barked. "Dress left! And . . .**_**hup-two-three-four**_**!"**

**Dan began to run, nearly tripping over his sister.**

**"Ow!" Amy cried out. "**_**Dan!**_**"**

**"Sorry!" Dan said. "See you at the platform –"**

**"**_**Dan, my foot is stuck!**_**"**

"Very observant, Daniel," Ian said sarcastically.

**Dan whirled around and shone his flashlight on Amy's crouching silhouette. She was grimacing, her left foot jammed under one of the rails.**

"How do you get your feet stuck under a _rail?"_Nellie asked incredulously.

Amy shrugged. "I d-d-don't know. I-it just happened."

**"I'll rescue her!" Hamilton shouted.**

'_Good,' _Ian said to himself. He didn't want to see Amy die, however much his mother wished it. And besides, if she died, Korea's…_events_ between Amy and himself would never have happened. _'Wait…was that good or bad?'_

Ian shrugged to himself mentally. '_It's__all__in the past,' _he reminded himself.

**"No, me!" Reagan shrieked. "I never get to rescue first!"**

**"Stand clear!" Eisenhower boomed.**

**"**_**Rawf**_**," Arnold barked.**

**Dan elbowed his way into the crowd, trying to reach is sister, who was screaming at the top of her lungs, "**_**You're only making it worse!**_**"**

**Dan's hair began to rise in swirls lightly from the back of his head. A low but steady wind was gusting through the tunnel from the south. Dan could see Amy's face looking up to him, eyes wide. "Dan? How accurate are those train tables?"**

**"I don't know!" Dan replied**

**"When a train is entering a t-tunnel, don't you f-feel the air being pushed – ?"**

_**Ho-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-onk!**_

The atmosphere tensed, except for Isabel and Vikram Kabra, who both wished that Amy Cahill had actually died. It would have made the Clue Hunt so much easier, making Daniel Cahill fall apart. It would also have dispirited Ian, whom Natalie claimed had a crush on the girl.

**Dan spun toward the sound. Two distant headlights, like reptilian eyes piercing the darkness, were headed their way – and growing fast.**

**"Holts –**_**bolt**_**!" Eisenhower commanded.**

**As one, the Holt family turned away from the approaching train and broke for the next station at a dead run.**

**"**_**Don't leave us!**_**" Amy shouted.**

**Dan pulled and pulled. Amy's foot was jammed. Tight.**

**"**_**OWWWW!**_**"**

**"I'll . . . get . . . it," Dan said through gritted teeth. He knelt in the icy trickle of water running between the rails, now choppy with the vibrations.**

**"**_**Run, Dan!**_**"**

**"Wait . . . I know . . ."**

_**The laces**_**. Dan dug his fingers into her shoelaces and yanked hard.**

**They were knotted. Wet and stuck. Her foot seemed glued to the shoe. If he could just slip it out, use the wetness to slide . . .**

**The screech of the brakes filled the tunnel. The wind whipped around him like a gale, throwing dust and debris into his eyes. His vision flashed white. His body was telling him to go. Now.**

**"**_**JUST RUN!**_**"**

**"**_**Stop it, Amy, I can't leave you –**_**"**

**She had saved him. He could save her. He had to do it.**

Amy smiled slightly at Dan - one of those rare moments in which she realized that she did truly love Dan . . . the times when he wasn't being annoying. He was a good little brother, at least when he wasn't pretending to be a ninja or dancing around like a hyperactive monkey.

Dan noticed his sister's eyes on him and felt a bit uncomfortable. Girls didn't hug him. Ever. Hugging was too girly. Except he wouldn't mind if one certain girl did…

_**Pull!**_

**The wind was violent. The noise pressed into his ears like a solid thing. He pulled again, wiggled, jerked, pounded.**

**She was resisting now, pushing him away – trying to save him. Her breath felt cold on his neck, the veins in her throat bulging out.**

**He realized she was shrieking, but he couldn't hear a word.**

_**HO-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-ONK!**_

**Dan's body froze solid as he turned into the glare of the oncoming headlights.**

"And the train hit Amy and Daniel, breaking every bone in their bodies and leaving much blood on the tracks. A funeral is held, and the Kabras stole all their Clues. The Kabras win, and they rule the world forever." Isabel Kabra continued. She said it so calmly, as if she was reading from the book itself, and Jonah actually half-believed her until he realized that it was Amy holding the book, not Isabel . . . and that Amy and Dan were there in the room with them, which probably meant that they did not die. Probably.

"Hey!" Dan glared at the Lucian matriarch. "How about _you_ die?"

Amy didn't say anything, but she agreed with Dan mentally. '_Please fall off a cliff.'_

"Whoa, whoa, whoa –" Nellie held up one hand, and Saladin screeched, as if he were backing her up.

"No more arguing, kiddos. I want to read." Nellie looked at Amy expectantly.

Amy handed over the book, relaxing slightly on the sofa. '_Isn't the next chapter about meeting Ian?'_Her stomach lurched as she thought about it. _And then Korea…in my thoughts…_Butterflies entered her stomach. '_I don't want Isabel going anywhere near that book anymore__. . . I don't want her killing me and Ian . . .__And__I don't want them having__so much fun laughing at me…'_

Amy paled. '_And then,__after this book, we have Nataliya to protect…I'm starting to think these books aren't that good for us after all.'_

Amy shook her head, dispelling any worrying thoughts. '_Focus on the present,'_she thought to herself, and leaned forward to listen to Nellie reading the book.


	11. Chapter Seven

**A/N: No double update this time, sorry. I'm just too lazy. *sigh*. But I will make the updates more frequent.**

**This chapter is brought to you by:**

**Royal Danielle - The Beta. She did an awesome job with this chapter. **

**A La Dark Angel - The Reviewer of this Chapter**

**A round of applause for each of them~**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the 39 Clues. **

**So without further ado...**

* * *

"_**AHHHHH!"**_

**Amy didn't feel much at all. The wind. The metallic shriek of the brakes, the horn blocking out all sound.**

**She must have closed her eyes, because she didn't see anything, either.**

**She felt.**

**Her body wrenched upward and backward. She was flying.**

**And then her shoulder hit solid, cold cement.**

**When she opened her eyes, all was dark and silent.**

Isabel Kabra wished with all her heart…or what was left of it that Amy Cahill had descended into whatever afterlife there was. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The brat was sitting next to her babysitter.

Nellie, the "babysitter," was thinking about how good her timing was when she chose to read the chapter. She finally got to find out what happened to Dan and Amy when she was being "kidnapped" by the Kabras.

"**I g-g-guess…I'm dead?" she heard her own voice call out, strangely high-pitched and thin.**

**For a long time, she heard nothing else. And then:**

"**Hi, Dead. I'm Dan."**

Amy and Nellie chuckled quietly. That was so typical Dan.

_That's one thing about my brother,_ she smiled fondly to herself._I can always count on him for humor._

**The**_**ssshhhhick**_**of a lit match sounded, and a tremulous light outlined two faces.**

**Amy sat up. Her left ankle ached, and her shoe was missing. "Uncle Alistair? Dan?"**

**Dan's hair was standing on end, his face shadowed with black dust and his eyes the size of softballs.**

"...Softballs?"

The query came from Natalie, whose brow was scrunched up in a really rather adorable way.

"A ball used in a sport called softball," supplied Amy.**  
**  
Isabel glared. "My daughter did not ask for your help, ragamuffin," she snarled.

Dan bristled. It was one thing to insult him, another to insult his sister. He was just about to snarl right back when his sister sent him a look. _Leave it, Dan_, her expression said.

**"He did it. Uncle Alistair. He saved our lives. Reached out. From the wall. How –" Dan tottered toward her, his body bent over as he gawked at Amy's foot. "It's still there. He didn't amputate it when he –"**

Isabel scowled. _Why did it not happen?_ she asked herself angrily. _It would be much easier for the Lucians if the Cahill sister's foot was cut off._

**With that, Dan's knees buckled and he crumpled to the floor.**

"**Dan!" Amy shouted. As she reached out to grab his arm, her ankle screamed with pain.**

"Your ankle's got a mouth, Amester?" Hamilton snickered. Amy swatted at him playfully.

Ian watched this in seething silence.

"**It's all right," Dan said, sitting up. "I'm all right. Don't call nine-one-one. Did my hair turn white? Like in movies, like when people get really, really scared?"**

"Idiot boy," murmured Vikram under his breath.

"**You're both safe now," Alistair said, moving his match around to outline the contours of a large room. "Dan, your hair is not white – and you were right about the hiding place. It is more or less where you thought it would be. There was a small graffito, an ancient-looking symbol on what looked like an electrical plate. Once I pressed it, the door swung open. I merely brought you both in with me."**

"NOOOOOOOO!" Hamilton howled. He glared at his lap, waving his hands dramatically. "We should have stayed and gotten the lead!" His eyes were full of frustration and a bit of regret; frustration because he was stupid to leave with his family because of a _train,_and regret because he should have saved Amy.

Jonah smirked. "Tomases really are stupid, man."

Hamilton turned and glared at the Janus. "At least we have skills. All you can do is rap. How's that going to help you get Clues?"

"Cause I'm famous, yo," Jonah sneered at the Tomas, "Unlike you."

Nellie sighed impatiently. "I'm trying to read here, you know." She placed the book on the table, stood up and whacked Hamilton and Jonah's heads in quick succession.

"Shut up or else." She glared at the two boys. The force of her glare was so much that both boys came to a tacit agreement: _Do not anger Nellie. We'll continue this later._

"Good." Nellie, satisfied, started reading again.

**Amy lunged forward on her good foot, keeping the other one in the air, and flung her arms around him. "Thank you," she said.**

This time it was Nellie who stopped reading. "You _hugged_him?"

Everyone else had similar reactions to a reddening Alistair.

_Foolish girl,'_Vikram thought to himself. _Affection is weakness. And you simply do not show it in the Clue Hunt.'_

After everyone quieted, Nellie began reading again, much to the relief of Amy and Alistair.

**She felt him flinch. For a horrible moment she felt as if she'd done something terribly wrong. She could tell he was not the hugging type. Then awkwardly, Alistair wrapped his arms around her. "I…owned you one," he said softly.**

_I only wish my father was still alive,_Alistair thought sadly. _I would have liked to hug him._

But Alistair knew that Gordon Oh was dead, and it was his own brother who killed him. He knotted his hands into fists. One day, he would avenge his father.

One day.

"**Or two," Dan said.**

**Alistair nodded. "I suppose my record is not very good in life-threatening situations."**

"**Well, you've made up for it now," Amy said, burying her head in the shoulder of Alistair's silk suit jacket, which still smelled of aftershave.**

**Gently, Alistair pulled himself away, glancing downward with concern. "How does your foot feel?"**

"**Like it was jammed under a rail and then pulled out of its shoe," Amy said with a wince. "I can move it, but I think I sprained my ankle."**

"**Bet you can't tap-dance," Dan said, still sounding a little shell-shocked.**

Natalie laughed silently to herself. Daniel Cahill was a strange boy, and she had to admit that she liked his odd humor. Only he would ever say that to someone who just avoided getting amputated.

**Amy smiled at her brother, never **_**ever **_**having imagined she would enjoy hearing his stupid humor. She felt a rush of warmth for him.**

"**Oh, no, I see that look –**_**no**_**hugs!" Dan said, backing away.**

**Numbly, he flicked on his flashlight and swept it slowly around the room, until the beam landed on a pile of old relics lying haphazardly on the floor and covered with thick, gray-black dust – clothing, strange tarnished metal things, a metal box, a globe, a hefty cylinder. As they all moved closer, Alistair remarked, "Well, the**_**yakuza**_**may control some kind of underground network, but it doesn't look like they've been here for a few centuries."**

"**Hey," Dan piped up. "What does Jar Jar Binks say when he meets a member of the Japanese Mafia?"**

"Huh?" Ian blinked. _Who is Jar Jar Binks?_

"He's a character in Star Wars," said a blushing Amy, as if reading his mind.

Ian bestowed upon her a grateful smile. "Thank you, love."

Hamilton, oblivious to this, hesitated, thinking hard. "You, sah?" _"Yakuza?"_

"Yep," Dan moaned in frustration. "Why does everyone know?"

**Amy groaned. "You are recovering too quickly."**

"**I'm game. Wait…" Alistair paused for a moment and smiled. "'You, sah?**_**Yakuza?'"**_

**Dan's grin disappeared. "How did you know that? I just made it up out of my own head."**

"**Puns are a sign of intelligence, deeply buried," Alistair replied,**

"Intelligent? _Tomas_?" Jonah sneered. A glare from Nellie silenced him. She coughed and started again.

**Alistair replied, putting on his white gloves. He leaned into the pile of stuff and gingerly lifted a small, brittle garment. "Hard to tell how old this is under so many decades of metal dust."**

"**Hey, check it out!" Dan said. He was unrolling a scroll that he'd pulled out from behind a chest of drawers.**

"**Careful!" Amy said.**

**The scroll was open now, blackened around the edges but legible – three lines of stylized Japanese characters. "What's it say?" Dan asked.**

"Most likely a haiku," Ian decided aloud, sounding self-assured. "Three lines, Japanese characters, it is a haiku."

Dan rolled his eyes. "Duh. Haikus are Japanese."

**Alistair looked closely. "It's a haiku, I think. Wait, let me get the meter right. 'To find the new home/Of Hideyoshi's treasure/Use geometry.'"**

"**Treasure?" Amy asked. "Does that include the swords?"**

"**We're rich!" Dan shouted. "Woo-hoo – I knew it! Okay, geometry. I'll get this one. Hang on, give me a minute…."**

"**It could be anything…" Amy said, gazing around the room.**

"**We're in a big room," Dan declared. "So…the volume of a parallelepiped, maybe?"**

"That could work, I suppose," Ian mused to himself quietly. Then he realized that he was complimenting Daniel Cahill. "On second thought, that wouldn't work, Daniel," he added quickly under the eye of his mother.

"**Beg pardon?" Alistair said.**

"**A three-dimensional parallelogram, like this chamber," Dan explained.**

"**How would **_**that **_**solve the problem?" Amy asked. "It's like trying to find a hypotenuse in a haystack."**

"**Is that a joke?" Dan said. "Because if it is, you should give me a signal. Like, tap your head twice so I know when to laugh."**

**He let go of the scroll with one hand. The**_**snap**_**of its shutting caromed off the walls into the silence.**

**The dead silence.**

"_Yakuza_are coming!" Hamilton grinned. "I wanna fight them!"

Dan looked at Hamilton in surprise. "Aren't the _yakuza _Tomas as well?"

Hamilton paused, thinking. "Oh...But it would still be awesome!"

Dan winced. "I'd rather fight them in video games."

"I'd rather not fight them at all," murmured Amy.

**Amy glanced around nervously. "Um, shouldn't there have been another train by now…?"**

**Dan reached in his pockets. "I can't check. I think I dropped my schedule on the track."**

"**I mean, just logically – wouldn't another train have come through?" Amy said. "If not this direction, then the other? The trains are pretty frequent, right? Why is it so quiet?"**

**Alistair stood bolt upright. "Point taken. They must have closed down the power. Which means –"**

**The distant thrum of voices now filtered in through the walls. It was coming from the north, from the track on the side opposite the one they'd used.**

"**Who's that?" Dan asked. "Police?"**

**Alistair's face suddenly looked aged and puckered. "No," he replied, his voice shaky. "**_**Yakuza."**_

"**What do we do?" Dan asked.**

"**They can't find us, right?" Amy said. "So we stay?"**

**Alistair took Amy and Dan by the arm, pushing them toward the door. "They will eventually cross the tracks, see the lost shoe, the dropped schedule, the smudges worn off the wall plate. We must go."**

"**Cube!" Amy blurted, suddenly breaking loose and racing back to the pile. "Look! Sphere! Cylinder! Para – parallelowhatever! Those are geometric shapes – right, Dan? **_**They're right here!"**_

"Very clever, Amy," Alistair murmured quietly. "Perhaps you and Dan are Ekats."

Amy and Dan exchanged glances. They knew all too well what branch they belonged to, and Ekaterina wasn't it.

Jonah was wishing that they were. As dangerous as Ekats were, they were still less terrifying than the mysterious Madrigals.

**Dan was already grabbing the globe, stuffing it into his backpack. "Take them all!"**

"**Quickly!" Alistair said. He took a small cube in one hand, a triangulated tube in another. Amy scooped up the long cylinder and headed back to the door.**

**In a moment, they were out on the track again. Alistair pushed the thick door closed behind him. Where a seamless, grime darkened wall once stood, there was now the faint outline of a recently opened door.**

**The train that had almost hit them was now stopped beyond them, its rear cars not yet having reached the next station platform.**

**Amy pulled her shoe from under the rail and jammed it on her foot. She stumbled, her ankle throbbing with pain. But the thought of stopping petrified her. Clenching her teeth, she ran. They flew down the back, back in the direction they'd come. The station soon came into view, but the track was dotted with flashlights, beams moving around like fireflies.**

**They all stopped, their ragged breaths echoing in the tunnel.**

"**Police," Alistair whispered. "We cannot let them find us. They will arrest us."**

"Police is better," Nellie remarked. "You can always give them the slip. But _yakuza _are totally different."

"And how would _you _know, _au pair_?" sneered Isabel. Nellie rolled her eyes and ignored her. She knew that the best way to deal with these divas were to ignore them.

Isabel seethed. Nobody ignored her.

**The lights were getting closer, the voices louder. From the other side, it sounded as if the**_**yakuza**_**had switched over – to their side of the tracks.**

"**And the **_**yakuza?" **_**Dan asked.**

"**They'll kill us," Alistair replied.**

"**That's a no-brainer," Dan said, heading toward the cops.**

"**No!" Amy grabbed him by the arm.**

"**Where do **_**you **_**suggest we go?" Dan hissed.**

**Amy looked up. The bottom rung of a ladder hung just above her head.**

"**We must take the objects," Alistair said. He quickly removed his silk jacket, laid it flat, placed the objects on top, then gathered the jacket edges upward. Dan took a rope from his backpack and tied a knot, making a secure container.**

**Amy was already climbing, grimacing against the pain. Dan put the other end of the rope between his teeth, grabbed the ladder, and pulled himself up.**

**Below him, Alistair was gawking into the darkness, one hand on the ladder and the other clutching his walking stick. "Come on!" Dan shouted through his teeth.**

"What are you doing?" Nellie hissed at the Ekaterina. "You're holding them up!"

Alistair scratched his head and shrugged. "It is over and done with."

**"Just **_**go!"**_**Alistair cried.**

**Footsteps thudded against the track. A man appeared out of the darkness, his soot covered face allowing only his teeth and eyes to pick up the light – until Dan noticed the gleam of a dagger in his right hand.**

**Now Alistair was moving. He was on the second rung when a guttural shriek rang out.**_**"HEEE – YAHHHHH!"**_

"You've got a good scream, Nellie," Dan told his au pair, who had imitated the _yakuza_scream with uncanny similarity.

Nellie grinned. "Course I do, kiddo."

**Dan looked down to see the **_**yakuza **_**blade slicing through the air – at Uncle Alistair's legs.**

"And sadly, it did not chop off your legs." Isabel Kabra said in a bored tone. Not much had happened in this chapter, and no true leads were revealed.

"Alright, chapter's over." Nellie stretched and set the book down. "Who wants to read?"

Hamilton raised his hand. "I wanna read again!"

Nellie hesitated. "The only person who hasn't read is our _beloved_Mrs. Kabra." Should either the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean dry up, the sarcasm dripping off her voice would have been enough to fill it again.

Dan reached over and rifled through the next chapter. The pages were relatively safe. He looked up, and grinned. "Mrs. Kabra, read."

Isabel hissed angrily. She hated it when people called her 'Mrs. Kabra.' It made her sound so old.

"If you insist." She flicked her hair back and took the book. Clearing her throat, she began to read.


	12. Chapter Eight

**A/N: Hello again! This is the beta'ed version of Chapter Eight - new and improved by Little Lobster! There might be a few spacing problems, but no matter how many times I fix it, FF still takes away some spaces.**

**People to Applaud:**

**Little Lobster: The Beta**

**Royal Danielle: She's still an awesome beta, even if she didn't beta this**

**Iciclegirl235: The Random Reviewer **

**So without further ado...go ahead and read the revised edition...unless you'd rather not...**

* * *

**"Chapter Eight." **

**"**_**Watch out!" **_**Amy screamed.**

**"**_**Hunh!"**_**Alistair gasped, heaving himself upward.**

_**Clanggggg!**_

**Dan felt the ladder jolt. He hung on tight, staring at the amazing sight below.**

**With a sharp, precise movement, Alistair had brought his walking stick down hard, knocking the blade from the attacker's hand. Then, on the backswing, Alistair caught the **_**yakuza **_**on the side of the head, sending him spinning downward to the track.**

"Daniel, the hunt for the 39 Clues has been going on for centuries," Natalie said, struggling to hide the glint of amusement in her eye. "Naturally, every branch would learn at least _something,_though the Lucians have achieved the most."

Dan rolled his eyes. "Really? Are you sure?" he said, his voice dropping with sarcasm. "And besides, Alistair is old. I didn't think that he would still be able to do that!"

Alistair sighed. "I beg to differ." He was old – that's true - but that doesn't mean that he was _that _incapable.

Isabel glared at the three, irritation evident in her voice. "Alistair is an old man; the Lucians are the best among the rest; and Daniel is stupid. Now that that's all settled, you can now shut your mouths."

Dan glared at Isabel. Alistair was also slightly offended, but he knew better than to test the patience of Isabel Kabra. He only hoped that his nephew did, too.

**"Get out, Dan!" Alistair commanded, shouting upward.**

**"How did you learn to do **_**that?"**_**Dan asked.**

**"I'm full of surprises – now **_**move!"**_**Alistair said.**

**Amy had managed to push aside the grating at the top of the ladder. Dan scrambled to the street, pulling up the objects behind him. A moment later, with a loud grunt, Alistair heaved himself up onto the sidewalk. A mother pushing a baby in a stroller swerved around them. Dan quickly began shoving the grating back, getting it over three quarters of the hole before Alistair yanked him away.**

**"No time for that!" he said, pulling Dan with him as he stepped into the street.**

**"Wait!" Dan protested. "What about Amy?"**

**Amy was trying to catch up, limping over the curb in their direction.**

_**Shiiiink…SHIIIINK!**_

**Soot stained fingers, reaching up from underground, were sliding the grate open.**

"Shoulda closed the grate, man," Jonah told Dan and Alistair knowingly, shaking his head all the while.

Dan redirected his glare to the Janus heir, but Hamilton got there first, never missing a chance to shoot down the rap star. You would have thought that the enmity was between the Janus and Tomas, not the Tomas and Ekaterina.

"They were being chased by _yakuza,_smart one," Hamilton sneered. "You try closing the grate. No, wait. I bet you wouldn't even do it in the first place, 'cause you're probably tooscared to get your hands dirty."

Jonah opened his mouth to retaliate, obviously struggling to find a witty comeback. Everyone else was watching with amusement.

"And you – you're a stupid Tomas who doesn't know _anything_. You can't sing or dance, while I'm the _king_!" Jonah accidently made his words rhyme, making the sentences sound like a poorly formed rap.

Hamilton began to laugh at a reddening Jonah, and there were scattered snickers among the rest.

Jonah looked humiliated. Amy watched him silently, thinking that perhaps Hamilton had been too hard on him this time. Sure, Jonah was a jerk, but he looked so embarrassed thateven Amy felt sorry for him. Silently meeting the eyes of Nellie, the au pair nodded in understanding.

"Now that you've all finished laughing," Nellie began, glaring at each and every one of them with her special au pair glare – the one that is guaranteed to make anyone shut up. "perhaps we should continue reading." Her words were simply a suggestion, but her tone made it clear that it was a command.

**"Pardon me, please," Alistair said, rushing over to the hole. Like a golf pro, he drew back his walking stick and swung it down toward the fingers. Hard.**

**"AAAAAAAGHHH!" came a tortured shout.**

**Dan heard the thumping of multiple bodies hitting the ground below the ladder.**

**Alistair knelt, his back to Amy. "Climb on."**

**She leaped onto him and he locked his arms under her knees, grimacing as he limped across the street behind Dan. Their shadows were elongated in the setting sun, making them look like some misshapen beast.**

_**HONNNNK!**_

**A car swerved out of the way, its driver shouting at them.**

**"The objects –" Alistair called out through gritted teeth. "Drop them in the alleyway. We will come back for them!"**

**Dan spotted a dark, narrow space between buildings and threw Alistair's tightly packed jacket into it. They raced around the corner, up a hill between low brick buildings where the smell of soy sauce and fried shrimp belched out of ground floor windows in steamy wisps. Alistair darted right at the top of the hill, into the open gate at the back of a vast, empty playground.**

**"Where are we going?" Dan cried out.**

**"I have friends!" Alistair said. "All we need to do is get a taxi –"**

**As if by magic, a cab sped toward them up the street. Alistair let go of Amy with one hand and waved frantically, shouting in Japanese.**

**But as the taxi swerved at him, it picked up speed, its engine roaring.**

"Who wants to bet that it's not a real taxi?" Hamilton murmured under his breath. Only Ian, who was sitting rather close to him, heard what he said.

In Ian's opinion, taxis were one of the best ways to steal Clues. All you had to do was slip the driver a few thousand dollars, and they would plant a GPS, lie, trick, steal, and basically do anything you tell them to do. Thousands of taxi drivers were on the Lucian payroll, evidence that the Cahills had discovered the hard way more than once. Then, Ian's smile disappeared as he thought of Amy. He didn't like tricking her - or even her idiot ninja-obsessed brother for that matter. But why not?

_'I do not like Amy,' _Ian told himself firmly. And in truth, he believed it. Or did he? As Ian mused to himself, his mother continued reading.

**"**_**Look out!"**_**Dan screamed.**

**Alistair jumped away. Amy went flying off onto the blacktop as the cab hopped the curb, missing them by an inch. It squealed to a stop and spun around.**

**At once, all four doors opened.**

**"**_**Yakuza!" **_**Alistair shouted.**

**Now even Amy was moving fast. As Dan ran after her, he heard a high whistling sound.**_**"DUCK, AMY!"**_

**A jagged edged silver metal disk sliced the air. It whizzed over Dan's head as he leaped for his sister, grabbing her by the waist.**

**She screamed as they tumbled to the ground again.**

**"What was that?" Amy gasped.**

"A shuriken," Hamilton interrupted. "Ninja throwing star."

**"A**_**shuriken,"**_**Dan shouted. "A ninja throwing star!"**

Dan grinned. "Cheater!"

Hamilton shook his head. "I said it before _Mrs. Kabra _read it, so _you_ cheated!" he stated.

**Amy shook her head, amazed at how quickly the tense atmosphere had dissipated. Boys…**

**"This way!" Alistair cried out. Dan felt the old man's hand clasp his wrist, yanking him upward. In a split second they were racing into a large steel tunnel, part of the playground.**

_**Thunk! Thunk! Thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk!**_

**Dan flinched as each throwing star hit the outside of the tunnel, inches from their heads.**

**They emerged from the other end into a complex of thick wooden climbing equipment. Alistair was running, crouched, his head low and his walking stick tucked under his arm. Splinters flew around their heads like hailstones.**

**Barking, angry Japanese instructions rang out behind them. Car doors slammed. Tires screeched. Dan, Amy, and Alistair ran blindly out of the playground, across a lawn, into a backyard, over a small fence.**_**"Yeowww!" **_**Amy shouted, her foot jamming in the fence's links.**

Nellie frowned. "You seem to be getting hurt a lot, kiddo," she told Amy, concerned.

Amy sighed. "That day wasn't a good one for me."

Isabel snorted. Then, she realized – a little too late - that snorting was not lady-like in any way. She scolded herself mentally. As Isabel Kabra, she had built a reputation that she kills people like a lady, with grace and poise. So, therefore, she was a lady and she had to act like one at all times.

"Oh, that day was a very good day, Amy," Isabel said, smiling. "You were hurt, my dear, and whenever that happens, it's a good day."

"_Sadistic bitch,"_Nellie hissed in a mock whisper.

Isabel whipped her head around to glare at the au pair. "What did you just say, you ugly –"

She was stopped abruptly as most of the people in the room leaped forward and silenced her.

Hamilton had one huge, meaty hand clamped over Isabel's mouth. Then, he wondered whether her tongue or teeth were dipped in poison or something. 'It's too late now,' he thought.

"I suggest that you remove your hands from my wife," Vikram's deadly quiet voice cut through the air like a dagger.

Slowly - and reluctantly - Isabel was free again. She immediately wiped her lips in disgust, murmuring something nasty about the hygiene of the Tomas branch. Her icy glare cut into the ones who leaped at her, promising a slow, torturous death for each of them.

"Maybe our _Mrs. Kabra _shouldn't read anymore," Nellie said sweetly. "I'm sure Hamilton would like to read."

Normally, Nellie wouldn't have done what she did. But if there was one thing she was protective about, it was her au pairees, Dan and Amy. No one would do anything bad to Dan or Amy if she could help it. But in the Clue Hunt, she knew she couldn't help it. But Isabel's remarks – that she could stop. So she made an exception for herself.

Hamilton snatched the book from Isabel, leaving no room for argument. Isabel's face reddened, and her furious face made the room drop thirty degrees. Dan shivered, suddenly feeling cold.

Hamilton began reading, his voice flat.

**"Keep up!" Alistair retorted.**

**The throwing stars had stopped, Dan realized. The**_**yakuza**_**wouldn't use them in a residential neighborhood – would they?**

**They emerged at the other end of a block, this one with a line of stores on either side. To their right, Dan could hear a speeding engine. "Go left!"**

**The street sloped downward to a big, open market area. Inside, vendors were packing up, cleaning out stalls. Dan realized that he, Amy, and Alistair could get safely lost in there. The**_**yakuza**_**would be asking for chaos if they followed.**

_**VRRROOOOOM!**_

**Dan stopped in his tracks. A red Porsche was turning into the road in front of them. Blocking their way to the market. Rounding the corner, the Porsche flashed its brights. Dan cowered, momentarily blinded.**

**Grabbing his sister, he sprang away from the street. "Jump –**_**jump!"**_

**They leaped onto the sidewalk, rolling past a metal mailbox as odd noises rang out.**

_**Thwip! Thwip-thwip!**_

Isabel was furious. And she was getting tired of the book, especially since it only revolved around Amy and Dan. Natalie and Ian were nowhere to be found.

Now, as she listened, the sound effects the Tomas boy was making sounded like a stun gun. She glared at Ian. '_That stun gun had better be you, Ian, or there will be consequences.'_

Isabel hated incompetency.

**Shots flew by them, up the hill from the Porsche to where the**_**yakuza**_**taxi was now bearing down on them**

_**Smash!**_

**One of the taxi's headlights popped.**

_**Thwip-thwip!**_

**A projectile cracked the taxi's windshield. The taxi began to skid to the left, whirling. Its tires hopped the curb – and the car's broad left side hurtled toward Dan, Amy, and Alistair.**

**Amy screamed. Or maybe it was Dan himself. He couldn't tell. He was only aware of flying through the air. His head banged against the side of the building as a flash of yellow steel rolled by him, massive and dented.**

**With a sickening crunch, the taxi crashed through the plate glass window of a closed flower shop.**

**It came to rest on a bed of broken bouquets and shattered glass, its wheels in the air. Two men groggily worked their way out of the wreck, stumbling for a few seconds while they gained their bearing. Dan, Amy, and Alistair huddled together in the shadows, but the men ran up the hill, looking in dazed fear over their shoulder.**

**"What just happened?" Amy said.**

**"We were in a ninja fight," Dan said in amazement. "For the first time in my nonvirtual life. And I hated it."**

"Really, Daniel," Ian drawled, trying to get back to his mother's good graces. "I would have thought that a _ninja –" _Ian made the word sound like a disease, "would have loved it."

Dan gave no reaction. Ian was nothing compared to his mother - unless he touched Amy. But then again, anyone with bad intentions who touched Amy automatically got on his hate list.

**A din of voices swelled from below as people from the market began walking up the hill to join the other gawkers, who descended from all sides.**

**Dan slowly stood. The Porsche was partially blocked from view by the mailbox, but Dan could see its gleaming mag wheels and tinted windows. "If they hadn't saved our butts…"**

**"Be careful," Alistair warned.**

**Suddenly, Dan heard the doors fly open. He froze.**

**"**_**Mrrp?"**_

**The tiny cry rang out. Dan's heart thumped as a silky animal grazed his ankle, and he glanced down at an Egyptian Mau that looked identical to Saladin but for the slightly mangy coat.**

**"Oh…" Amy said with a wistful smile.**

"Really, Daniel, getting sentimental over a cat." Ian didn't mention Amy. This fact was not lost on his mother.

**"That looks just like you-know-who," Dan said.**

Hamilton forced himself to chortle and lighten the atmosphere somewhat. "Are you trying to say that Saladin is Voldemort?"

Saladin gave an indignant _mrrp._

Amy chuckled quietly. Dan shook his head and burst out laughing.

Meanwhile, Natalie was staring at Hamilton. "You read books?" she said incredulously. She didn't mean for it to sound so derogatory, though it did. She was trying to be nice, despite the fact that it was clearly for FLOs. But Daniel was relatively nice and kind … and as far as she was concerned, he wasn't a FLO.

Hamilton rolled his eyes. "Of course I read. I'm not stupid." He was really getting irritated because everyone thought _all_Tomases were dumb. "And besides, I'm reading right now."

**The Mau was slinking over to Amy, who held out her arms to it.**

**"The breed is very popular around here," Alistair replied absently, his eyes still riveted on the Porsche. "Is anyone…alive in there?"**

**In reply, a figure staggered around from behind the mailbox. Dan's breath caught in his throat.**

**"Next time, dudes, hold on to your tickets," said Nellie Gomez.**

Hamilton finished the chapter, giving a thumbs-up to Nellie. "Nice entrance, dude."

"I will read next." Vikram's sharp voice held no room for arguments. Hamilton threw the book at Vikram, and looked disappointed when Vikram caught the book easily.


	13. Chapter Nine

**A/N: Hello. It's been long. I'm sorry for that. My life is going on a few rounds of merry-go-round, and hopefully it'll stop soon. **

**People to Applaud:**

**Little Lobster: The Beta. The typer of the bold parts of this chapter.**

**: Random Reviewer.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series. I don't own the bold parts. I don't own the characters. And I definitely, don't own the plot. **

**

* * *

**

"**Chapter Nine," **Vikram read. His voice was emotionless, and he looked like a statue.

**Dan gaped, ignoring his sister, who opened and closed her mouth in a stunning imitation of a spotted blowfish.**

**"**_**Mrrp?"**_**said Saladin.**

_**"Awwwweso-o-o-o-ome!"**_**Dan didn't care who heard him scream. He scooped up Saladin and threw his arms around Nellie.**

**Amy looked as if she'd just seen a ghost. But to Dan, Nellie felt real, all right. She felt all . . . spiky and leathery.**

Nellie glared at Dan. "All spiky and _leathery? _You make me sound like some sort of lizard!"

Dan scratched his head sheepishly. "Well…you _are_ kinda spiky…and leathery…"

Hamilton snickered quietly.

**And a split second later, Amy was all over her, too. Sobbing of course. Which made Nellie sob, too. Which almost ruined the whole thing. Even Alistair was a little teary.**

**Saladin climbed into Amy's arms, and she smiled disbelievingly. "But how did you...?"**

**"Find you?" Nellie laughed. "It was all over the news – subway shut down, people on the tracks...I'm, like,**_**ding**_**! Amy and Dan, no-brainer!"**

**"Where'd you get the cool car?" Dan added.**

**"Where did those shots come from?" Amy asked.**

**"Where's the duffel?" Dan prodded.**

**"How did you escape the Kabras?" Alistair said.**

**"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Nellie said with a laugh. "I need backup!"**

**Behind her, two shadowy figures stepped out of the car. "She didn't escape us," said Ian Kabra.**

The atmosphere in the room suddenly had a lot more tension in it. Isabel Kabra was smiling like a cat that got the canary, and everyone shrank away. When Isabel Kabra smiled, something bad was going to happen – it was the simple truth of light. And besides, Dan reflected, Isabel's teeth were kinda scary.

**"Far frub it," said Natalie in a stuffed-up voice.**

The smile on Isabel's face vanished as quickly as it came. She glared at Natalie, who had just shamed the Kabra family by speaking in a plebeian way that clearly stated she was ill. And Kabras just simply weren't plebeian.

**Dan felt his blood run down to his feet. Amy gripped his arm.**

**"We just survived a ninja attack," Dan reminded her. "Remember, there are two of them and four of us."**

**"**_**Mrrp**_**," said Saladin.**

**"Sorry, five," whispered Dan.**

**"Ah-**_**chooo**_**!" Natalie sneezed. "I hate cats."**

Hamilton grinned. "Saladin, ATTACK!"

**"ATTACK!" Dan yelled.**

"I said that first!" Hamilton whined.

"Nuh-uh! This happened in the past so _I_ said it _first_!" Dan countered

Hamilton shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Now we know Natalie's allergic to cats!" He grinned mischievously.

Dan grinned. He was thinking the same thing, "Cat attack!"

**Ian grinned patiently at him – and brandished a sleek stun gun.**

Hamilton and Dan stopped grinning.

**"Dan – duck!" Amy screamed.**

**"You asked about the shots?" Ian said. "This is your answer. You survived the yakuza because of my handling of this weapon. And because I insisted on renting a swift precision car, not the beige Chevy Cobalt your babysitter wanted."**

**"Id case you dod't udderstadt, you borons, we saved you," Natalie said. "Ah-chooo!"**

Vikram Kabra spoke in a bored tone - somehow managing to mimic his daughter's allergy-affected voice and sounding regal at the same time.

**"But . . . why?" Dan said. "You hate us."**

**"Dat's true." Natalie exhaled wearily.**

**"Yo, Nat? Take your allergy meds, okay, so you're not spraying me in the car?" Smiling at Dan and Amy, Nellie grabbed the driver's door handle. "Get in, all of you."**

**"But –" Amy said, glancing reluctantly toward the Kabras.**

**"We have to move before the **_**yakuza **_**return," Nellie said. "I'll explain everything. Oh. And we squeezed your duffels in the trunk."**

_**Yes!**_**Dan thought. That meant they had the swords. Dan climbed into the soft leather backseat with Amy and Ian as the others squeezed into the front. "Whoa,**_**this**_**is street cred," Dan said. "Can we keep it?"**

**"We left some . . . outer clothing near the subway station," Alistair said carefully. "Perhaps I can direct you there, Nellie."**

**"Seat belts!" Nellie commanded. She started the car, pulled away from the curb, and floored it to get through a yellow light. Alistair pointed her to the right as she continued: "Okay, update. When I see Poindexter and Morticia on the plane?"**

"Who are Poindexter and Morticia?" Hamilton and Dan asked at the same time.

Amy shrugged. "I t-think M-M-Morticia was some sort of television star. S-she w-w-was sometimes portrayed as a-a vampire." She paused. "I think."

Nellie rolled her eyes. "I'm not too sure myself, actually. I think Amy's right though. Poindexter - well, there are a lot of meanings for Poindexter. Let's just say that Natalie is Morticia and that Ian is Poindexter. And that Poindexter somehow means jerk. Is that alright?"

"**I freak. I'm, like, what happened to my kids? I think, they've, like, **_**eaten **_**you. Then they tell me what happened. **_**Bragging**_**. They're, like, fourteen and eleven, but they talk like they escaped from a Clue game. 'Forged the tickets, ho-ho!' – Anyway, they try to threaten me, yada yada, and of course I argue and I'm figuring in my head, 'Ha-ha, the next thing is they put poison in the drink' – but I'm, like, 'Nahh, of course they're not **_**that **_**skeezy.' Then I see her actually doing it, like **_**two inches away from me**_**– uh, hello? So I get kinda mad – you know, act like I'm going to drink it, and then **_**zam**_**, I spritz the stuff all over their faces. Well, I'm, like, 'Nyah nyah, this is really funny,' but they start to wig out and fall all over each other to get to their carry-on – they're, like, **_**'Eek our faces have schmutz on them!**_**' And I'm, like, **_**'Dudes, grow up! '**_**So I take their carry-on and sit on it. Um. Baad idea."**

It was actually quite amusing to hear Vikram rambling on in Nellie's way of speaking. Dan even snickered as Vikram said, _"'Eek our faces have schmutz on them!'"_

Isabel, however, wasn't amused. She redirected her venomous glare towards Ian and Natalie. Not only had they failed, but they carried out their plan with such a _lack_of subtlety that simply would not do. They were Lucians - Kabras at that - and this meant that they were the best. They were _supposed _to be the best. If Ian and Natalie won't put their act together … Isabel would just have to replace them.

**"The poison was in a concentrated form," Ian spoke up. "In the amount that Natalie had used, it would have mutilated, perhaps blinded us."**

**Amy squirmed away from him in disgust, nearly squeezing Dan into the side of the car. "And you were going to let Nellie**_**drink**_**it?" she said.**

**"We meant to temporarily disable her," Ian said. "Just a drop. But Natalie slipped during air turbulence. Before we could warn your nose-ringed nanny, she drenched us. Luckily, she allowed us to retrieve the antidote from our carry-on."**

**"That's kindness," Amy said.**

**"I made them agree to give me all their cash," Nellie explained.**

**"That's bribery," Natalie grumbled.**

Hamilton laughed. "You show 'em Nellie!"

**Nellie jerked the car to the right, and Dan felt like he was going to carry an Amy imprint on him for the rest of his life. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Amy's hand brush accidentally against Ian's. She let out a yelp and pulled it away.**

**"**_**Mrrp**_**!" said Saladin, arching his back and spitting at Ian.**

Hamilton sniggered. "Everyone hates you, Ian. Even Saladin hates you!"

Ian glanced at the said cat. Saladin was preening smugly at Hamilton's words. He groaned internally. A _cat _was making fun of him. A_cat,_out of all things. Life wasn't going so well for him.

**"Er, ahem," Ian said, leaning away from the cat, "the reason we are still here is that we'd like to propose a temporary alliance. As we explained to your porcine au pair, we have something you need."**

**"Like, two plane tickets?" Dan said, "Too late. And we'd rather have an alliance with a bucket of slime than with a Kabra – if we could tell the two things apart."**

**"Fine," Ian said. "We will use our artifact to find the clue ourselves – "**

**Alistair turned around toward Ian. "Artifact?"**

**"How refreshing, an open mind," Ian said with a sly smile. "As you well know, Mr. Oh, the Lucians have been collecting hints for years. So have the Ekats. And presumably so have . . . er, what branch**_**do**_**you belong to, Daniel?"**

Jonah shifted uneasily. _'Madrigals,'_ his mind hissed at him quietly. '_Amy and Dan are Madrigals.'_ Jonah hoped that he wouldn't give it away. Because then, he would have Amy and Dan and the rest of those evil Madrigals after him, and that wasn't good for his rep – let alone his life. But by the way Isabel was eyeing him … Jonah shivered. She couldn't have found out … could she?

**"The Cahills," Dan snapped. He hated that he and Amy were the only ones who didn't know their branch. "And you're crazy to think we'll work with you."**

**"Dan, they saved our lives," Amy said.**

**"They also tried to kill us!" Dan countered. "In the cave-in at Salzburg, in the canals of Venice –"**

**"There – you see how things change?" Natalie said brightly.**

"No," Amy muttered under her breath.

**"Our . . . item once belonged to a Japanese warrior," Ian said. "It will be crucial for finding the next clue. Alas, neither Natalie nor I understand Japanese. Which is where you, Mr. Oh, come in." He leaned closer to the front seat. "You give us what you know. We'll give you what we have. We'll work together."**

**"Just for this one clue," Natalie quickly added. "Afterward, we cut you loose. We have our reputation to think of."**

Amy's heart clenched - Ian had done that perfectly. Except . . . the cutting loose part. And even after all this time, Amy couldn't help but wish that it was real.

**"Stop here," Alistair said to Nellie.**

_**Screeeee! **_**The Porsche squealed to a stop at a desolate corner.**

**"How do I know we can trust you?" Alistair demanded.**

**"W-we already know we c-c-can't," Amy said.**

**Ian grinned, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a small velour bag stamped with the Kabra coat of arms and placed it in Amy's left hand. "This is yours, Amy Cahill. Now . . . how do we know we can trust **_**you**_**?**

Isabel snorted silently. The Cahills trust people so easily. They were so foolish, so stupid; it was a wonder they were not dead yet.

"There is a line break," Vikram said. "But I will finish the chapter."

Dan would have protested, but he was hungry, and the sooner they finish the chapter, the sooner he could eat.

**A coin.**

Vikram held up the book and flipped it around so that everyone could see what the coin looked like. Dan snickered – Vikram looked like he was reading to a bunch of toddlers and were showing them the pictures.

"Hey!" Hamilton exclaimed, craning his head at the picture. "That's a token for the arcade games at Laser Sport Time!"

"Ha!" Dan said, pointing at Amy. "I _told_ you it was like the ones at Laser Sport Time!"

"You mean _Loser _Sport Time," Natalie corrected, smiling.

"Is it?" Vikram narrowed his eyes at Ian. "And are you sure you recovered the genuine one?"

Ian swallowed. "Of course, father," he said smoothly.

Vikram didn't look too convinced. But he continued reading - one eye on the book, the other on his children.

**A stupid gold coin with a symbol on it – that's how the Kabras were buying their trust. Alistair had read the Japanese print on the back and claimed it might have belonged to Hideyoshi –**_**might**_**. Dan couldn't stand it. Collaborating with the Kabras was like kissing your sister. Well, maybe not that bad.**

**"The coin is so beautiful," Amy whispered, as they rounded the corner toward the alleyway where Dan had tossed the objects. Just ahead of them, Uncle Alistair was filling in Ian and Natalie on what had happened in the subway.**

**"It's a token for the arcade games at Laser Sport Time!" Dan hissed.**

Hamilton and Dan did a high-five.

**"Uncle Alistair doesn't think so," Amy murmured. "He's a numismatist."**

"He takes off his clothes in public?" Hamilton asked in sudden horror, eyeing the old man with disgust.

Alistair shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Ah … I believe that would be a _nudist,_young Tomas."

"Numismatist means _coin collector, _kiddo._"_Nellie explained patiently.

**"He takes his clothes off in public?" Dan said.**

**"It means **_**coin collector**_**! Besides, I sense Ian's telling the truth."**

**"That's because he touched your hand and did a mind meld."**

Amy's face turned red.

**"Shhh!" Amy said, as Ian glanced toward them.**

**The late afternoon sky was a bruised purple as they reached the alleyway across from the subway stop. The silk jacket was still in the corner like a discarded old bag. Despite the near darkness, Dan could read the familiar look on Amy's face.**

_**Sorry to embarrass you in front of your boyfriend**_**, he thought.**

Amy's face was the brightest color of red Dan had ever seen. It was a new record. He also noted, with amusement, that Ian was rapidly reddening as well.

"Boyfriend?" Jonah choked, glancing from Amy and Ian frantically. "W-w-what..."

"Jonah, do stop stuttering; you're reminding me of our dear Amy," Isabel said dryly.

Jonah had never seen any kind of tension or romance between Amy and Ian. How had it happened? He shook his head disbelievingly.

"Now if we're quite done…" Vikram's voice trailed off dangerously.

**Alistair knelt to pick up the cube container. "Move quickly," he said.**

**With a reluctant sigh, Dan struggled to remove the rusted top from the cylindrical container. Beside him, Alistair flung aside the cube with disgust. "Nothing in here but lizards."**

**As he reached for another container, a long black car pulled to a stop across the street. A black-uniformed man got out of the driver's seat and ran around to open the passenger door.**

**Dan crept forward in the shadows to watch. An Asian man, rail-thin and elderly, climbed out. His silver-white hair flowed past his shoulders, and he was dressed in an elegant dark suit with a silk pocket handkerchief. Walking along the sidewalk, he flipped open a cell phone as he knelt by the subway opening and peered inside.**

**Dan tapped Amy on the shoulder.**

**He heard Uncle Alistair let out a gasp and mutter something under his breath that sounded like "Bye."**

_Bae Oh, _Ian realized. The Ekat who was rumoured to have killed his own brother to claim the leadership of the Ekaterina branch. Trust Daniel to come up with the word "Bye."

**"Bye?" Dan said, as Alistair suddenly pulled him farther into the shadow.**

**The old man headed back into the car, and it quickly drove out of sight.**

**"Who was that?" Dan asked. "The king of the **_**yakuza**_**?"**

**"We . . ." Alistair's voice seemed to catch in his throat. "We need to hurry. Open all the containers. **_**Now**_**."**

**With a grunt, Dan finally managed to yank the top off the cylinder, releasing a stream of nuts, bolts, screws, and rivets.**

**"Fascinating . . ." Ian spilled tools from the rectangular box. "I adore hammers."**

**Alistair exhaled with frustration. "That room we found may have been a subway storage facility sealed off during construction years ago and forgotten."**

**"But what kind of subway workers leave mysterious haikus?" Amy asked, tentatively prying the top off the triangular-shaped tube.**

**"Maybe they're really songs," Dan said with a weary smile. "'Cause, you know, those guys work on**_**tracks**_**all day . . ."**

Everyone stared at him. With the way Natalie was staring at him, he felt like some sort of alien that needed to be dissected. What?" he demanded.

Natalie shook her head slowly. "You are impossible, Daniel."

**"Hey, look!" Amy moved into the streetlamp light, pulling a long scroll out of the tube. As the others gathered around, Dan trained his flashlight on the text at the center. It was written in dark, elegant calligraphy, surrounded by a faded, unfinished-looking landscape of a rock outcropping and hills.**

**Alistair began translating: "In the place of the final conquest, between three horns lies the people's wealth. And by the elements united is entrance granted, the highest to be revealed."**

**"Clear as wasabi," Dan remarked.**

"Wasabi tastes good," Hamilton mused.

**"Those letters right below," Amy said. "They look . . . **_**English**_**."**

**Dan grabbed the flashlight from his backpack and beamed it on a group of plain, thickly drawn letters at the bottom of the scroll:**

**TOOTA**

**"Toota?" Ian said. "Could it be a phonetic spelling of the French **_**toute**_**?"**

Isabel suddenly looked proud of her son for figuring that out. Ian had a look of hope of his face, hoping his mother wouldn't enter psychotic mode the next minute.

**"Good, Ian, good," Dan said. "**_**French**_**, on a Japanese scroll."**

Isabel's pride vanished in the blink of an eye. Ian went as pale as he could.

**"'Final conquest' . . ." Alistair murmured. "That's it! That's the key. I know where the clue is!"**

**"Where?" Amy and Dan asked at the same time.**

**A smile crossed Alistair's face for the first time all day. "The place where Hideyoshi mounted his final campaign and suffered his most humiliating defeat!"**

**"Right," Ian said uncertainly. "Of course. And . . . that would be . . . ?"**

"I thought I taught you better than that, Ian!" Isabel hissed. "Why am I paying for your education in the best school in England when you do not seem to be learning anything?"

Ian quailed. "Umm…uhhh…I-I-I h-h"

"Are you _stuttering?" _Isabel's voice was incredulous as she stared at her son in disbelief.

Ian shook his head furiously. He was well aware of the gazes of everyone else in the room, and he lamented at the embarrassment and humiliation of a public Isabel-hates-her-son-because-he-is-a-disappointment attack.

"I-I-I'm n-n-not s-stuttering," Ian whispered. Now he knew how Amy felt. He promised to himself that he wouldn't ever make fun of Amy's stuttering again. How could she do it and survive?

Isabel's eyes flashed. Fast as lightning, she leaned over and slapped Ian. Hard. The resulting sound was like a thunderclap, echoing throughout the silent room. Everyone was staring in shock.

Ian's head snapped to the right, and he nearly fell onto the ground with the force of the slap. Only Natalie's shaky hand stopped him from falling.

"You – you –" Amy couldn't seem to form a coherent sentence. Another example of Isabel Kabra's ruthlessness. She knew it was the same for Vikram – he just had more control and restraint.

Vikram read the last sentence of the chapter in an attempt to ameliorate things.

**"We are going home," Alistair said, his eyes ablaze. "To Korea."**

Dan didn't think it helped.


	14. Chapter Ten

**A/N: Hello everyone. Chapter Ten is finally here. Hopefully I'll be able to finish Chapter Eleven by next week. **

**People to Applaud and Thank -**

**Little Lobster - The Beta. With rather excellent changes to the chapter as well.**

**Tori-Chan-Madrigal - For pestering me to update until I finally did. Thank you!**

**evil-geniuses-4-dummies - The Random Reviewer**

**o.o**

**And then I realized that I had no name next to random reviewer in Chapter Nine. So Chapter Nine is for...Curiosity-Killed-The-Cat-27**

**So without further ado...Here's Chapter Ten!**

* * *

_Vikram read the last sentence of the chapter in an attempt to ameliorate things._

_**"We are going home," Alistair said, his eyes ablaze. "To Korea."**_

_Dan didn't think it helped._

_

* * *

_

Everyone in the room except Vikram, Ian, Natalie, Alistair, and Jonah was glaring at Isabel. Ian and Natalie were staring at the ground, while Vikram just stared ahead patiently. Jonah was staring at his hands, hunched over, trembling. Alistair was just sitting, mumbling something inaudible under his breath.

No one could say that Vikram wasn't trying to calm down the situation. "Well? Who wants to read next?" he said.

No one moved. You could practically hear every person's ragged breaths in the thick silence. Dan wished that the skin would just melt off of Isabel's bones. Then, he realized how disgusting it would be – Isabel goo all over the carpet. KLK wouldn't be happy. He sighed. Isabel would have to die by the hand of the awesome ninja lord some other time.

Vikram's eyes swept the room like a hawk. Or rather, a snake, to be more precise. "Jonah? Would you like to read the next chapter?"

Jonah gulped. "Umm. . . uh . . . no?"

Vikram smiled menacingly. "Thank you for consenting to read, Jonah." Then he flicked his wrist and sent the book gracefully curving towards the Janus.

"Aaaagh!" Jonah ducked as the book - hardcover, with sharp ends - sailed over his head dangerously. It hit the wall with a thump, then collapsed on the ground. He leaned over to reach the book, grabbing one end and pulling the book towards him. Then he clutched the book to his chest. Then he thought better of it, and held it like a shield in front of his face.

"Books are for reading, Jonah, not to be used as some sort of useless protective device," Vikram's voice cut through the silent room.

Jonah nodded frantically and scrambled to open to the book to the next chapter. He cleared his throat nervously.

"**Chapter Ten."**

No one moved. Jonah's voice was shaky.

_**Bae.**_

**The name, once so important in his life, now consumed Alistair with rage.**

Everyone slowly began to move, focusing their attention on Jonah. Alistair raised his head to stare the boy who was reading.

"Bye?" Hamilton asked blankly. "What kind of person names their kid _Bye_?"

"It's spelled as B-A-E," Alistair replied calmly.

**His uncle Bae had been so close. Across the street!**

_**It wasn't the right time,**_**Alistair reminded himself. He would have to wait. To plan.**

**He turned in his seat to check on his flight companions. The Kabra siblings were absorbed in an old episode of**_**The O.C.**_**on their personalized seat-back flight screens, and the Cahills were doing the airline magazine crossword puzzle.**

**Quietly he unfolded the printout from the library. In his lifetime, Alistair had spent a fortune on private investigators looking for the man who had taken everything from him. Now the man's identity had been discovered. He had died of old age – a respectable elder who had secretly built his fortune on contract killings and kept a record of each one in a private vault. Apparently, he had kept everything.**

"Sounds like a Kabra," Dan muttered, glowering at Isabel.

"Not quite, Daniel," Isabel stretched languidly on the couch. "We never leave traces, unlike those stupid, careless Ekaterinas."

Alistair darted a glance towards Isabel. The Lucian doesn't really have a way with words.

**Alistair spread the printout on his tray table. Fingers shaking, he read it for what seemed like the hundredth time:**

**RETRIEVED, H. H. KOH INVESTIGATIONS, AUG. 25 01:23:52**

**UPLOADED VPN AUG. 25 03: 14: 27**

**OH INDUSTRIES:**

**APRIL 22, 1948**

**Dear –**

"The name is blocked out with a marker," Jonah said. He turned the book around and showed everyone the letter that was printed out on the page.

"I wonder why," Nellie mumbled sarcastically.

**Brother will be arriving on 15:07 Delta flight, Idlewild Airport in New York, May 11. Booked into Room 1501 at Waldorf Astoria on Park Avenue. Scheduled to meet car in front of hotel on May 12 at 7:15 P.M., after dinner, for trip to Broadway play at Imperial Theater. Driver is –**

"Blocked out again," Jonah announced in his shaky voice.

**Will take route across 45th Street.**

**Upon completion of mission, payment will be forwarded by the expected means. Please confirm $5K US as proper amount. Destroy letter immediately.**

"Who's trying to kill who?" Dan asked. Normally, he would ask what the letter meant when it said 'mission'. But the Clue Hunt had taught him that cryptic letters like this usually meant that someone had died. And that someone was responsible for the death.

**Sincerely,**

**Bae Oh**

**BAE OH**

**SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT**

"Ah . . . But who would Bae Oh want to kill?" Dan asked. "I mean, I get how he might want to kill someone, like, they might have made fun of his name or something, since it _is_ kinda stupid -no offense, Alistair - and he must be cheap too, to pay someone just five thousand dollars to kill someone."

**Alistair forced himself to read it, fighting back nausea and anger.**

_**Five thousand dollars.**_

**His father's life for five thousand dollars.**

"Oh," Dan said in a small voice, glancing nervously at Alistair. "Never mind."

**The details of what had happened in New York were hardwired into Alistair's brain. He still carried around with him the tattered, yellow news clipping of the murder:**_**New York City, May 12, 1948: Korean industrialist Gordon Oh was killed at the intersection of Madison Avenue and 45th Street while being driven to the theater.**_

**Here is what the newspapers all said: There had been a break-in at Brooks Brothers, an alarm, the desperate robber running up the avenue with a gun and trying to commandeer a car stopped at a red light – his father's hired limousine. Mr. Oh had tried to subdue the man. He had struggled nobly but tragically lost his life. The gunman had slipped away and was never found.**

**His dad had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. An unlucky accident.**

**That was the official report.**

"And as usual, the official report was wrong," Amy whispered to herself. Like the events surrounding her parents' death. The police never really did anything. Well, with the involvement of Isabel, anyway.

**As a child, Alistair had never suspected foul play. But sometimes accidents were planned, and killers were hired. He had always been afraid of his uncle Bae Oh, his father's twin brother. Bae had grown up the lazy twin, the greedy slacker, repeatedly passed over for the head of the Ekaterina family, always under the shadow of the robust and well-loved Gordon. As an adult, Bae was all about foul play, as ruthless as a Kabra in his business dealings.**

"Sounds like he was sorted into the wrong house," Hamilton muttered, thinking about Harry Potter. "He should be in Slytherin, but it's like he's in Ravenclaw."

Amy was the one who heard him, and she couldn't help but wonder if the worlds of Harry Potter and their own world merged. But which House would she and Dan be sorted in? Did Madrigals count as Slytherin? Gryffindor? Hufflepuff? Or are they not part of any House at all? Are they loners and outcasts as usual?

**Bae craved glory and riches – and the 39 Clues. Whoever stood in his way had to go. Even his own brother.**

**It didn't matter that Gordon had a wife halfway across the world whose grief was so great that she had to be hospitalized. Or a four year old boy whose heart that day had been ripped out.**

**A boy who was packed off, crying and alone, to be brought up by a man with a heart of glass, to be ignored and mocked his whole life.**

'_Poor Alistair,'_Dan thought. '_No wonder he's so__strange__sometimes.'_

'_Like me and Dan,'_Amy thought. _'Except we had each other, and Grace.'_

**His uncle Bae Oh. The murderer's boss.**

**Alistair glanced at the Cahill children. They were squabbling over the answer to a crossword puzzle now, the argument turning into a joke, the boy making up a nonsense word – a babble of nonsense words, a burst of laughter. Even now they sounded as they did eleven years ago, as a newborn and a three year old. Back when Alistair had made his promise to Hope and Arthur. A promise that had been nearly impossible to keep.**

**The children wouldn't remember, of course. But he did. And now the couple was gone, for the same reason he'd lost his own parents. For the Clues.**

**He sighed. At least the children had each other.**

**All Alistair could hope for was revenge.**

**His fingers shook as he folded the sheet and put it back in his pocket. On this flight, he knew he would not sleep.**

"That was a sad chapter," Hamilton remarked.

A few sounds of mumbled agreement consent echoed through the room, as they darted glances toward Alistair.

But none from Isabel. She was too busy thinking about the best way to bring down Alistair, now that she had crucial information about the doddering old fool.

"Can I read next?" Dan asked, reaching for the book.

"Sure," And Jonah let the book fall.


	15. VIN Very Important Note

**A/N:**

**Hello readers. I'm sorry to say that this isn't a chapter but rather a tad distressing note.**

**I am officially putting this story on TEMPORARY HIATUS. **

**I'm losing interest in this story, and I just can't see myself finishing it. If my "Reading the Sword Thief" muse comes back, then maybe I'll start it back up again in January. No promises though.**

**Thank you all (registered users and anonymous users alike), for reading my story and encouraging me and giving constructive criticism on each of my chapters. You've all been really helpful to my improvement in writing.**

**Thank you to my two betas: RoyalDanielle and LittleLobster. You aren't afraid to point out errors in my drafts to me, and whenever either of you beta, you see the story in a different light and always manage to connect a part of the story to something else that I would never have thought about.**

**...It's starting to sound like I'm writing a will...**

**On a more cheerful note, I will be writing more fanfiction, just not updating Reading the Sword Thief. I'm going to start writing more original fanfiction now, and hopefully I won't be having too much OOCness. **

**Once again, thank you all for the reviews and your encouragement/criticism. Some of that encouragement and criticism is better than the criticism my English teacher gives me.**

**~Celestial **


	16. VIN Very Important Note 2

**A/N: Hello world!**

**This is Celestial. This A/N is about the continuation of this story.**

**I will not be continuing this story. Ever. Instead, I am passing it on to Imagination-Magic . I have given permission for Imagination-Magic to continue it and the first chapter is already posted. **

**So without further ado...Go read it if you've finished my story! The story is called "Reading the Sword Thief continued" and I hope you like it as much I as do. **

**~Celestial**


	17. VIN Very Important Note 3

**A/N: Hello! **

**It's been about a year but I am back. If you don't already know, the continuation of the Sword Thief written by Imagination-Magic has been completed and the Black Circle begun.**

**I will be writing again. Imagination-Magic and I will do alternate chapters for the Black Circle. Currently she is working on Chapter Three and I will write Chapter Four. After that, she'll do the odd chapters and I'll do the even chapters. The story is posted on her profile page:**

**.net/u/2817015/Imagination_Magic**

**The chapters that I write will also be posted on her account. There will hopefully be a new chapter posted each week. **

**I am also considering beginning new fanfics, either for Axis Powers Hetalia, 39 Clues, and soon, Homestuck.**

**Thank you!**

**~Celestial **


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